And a Jaune, and a Two
by Hxnim Nxtra
Summary: Remember when Jaune played guitar that one time in Volume 2? What if he could really make music? Like REALLY well. And not just limited to guitar. This is an alternate universe.
1. Chapter 1

**For Monty Oum to made such a beautiful world. Remember when Jaune played guitar that one time in Volume 2? What if he could really make music? Like REALLY well. And not just limited to guitar. This is an alternate universe.**

June Arc was pacing back and forth. She was nervous. Any minute now her father would be taking her and her sisters to see the new baby. Being the eight year old that she was, she couldn't help her excitement over the baby. 'It's a boy. It's not a girl this time!'

June looked up the stairs. "Julia! Juliet! Did you two pick out pick out your gifts yet? Dad is going to be here any minute now!"

From the top of the stairs. Two five year old twins came running down the stairs. Julia, the agreed older twin, had long straight silky blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders. Juliet, on the other hand, hand similar long hair, but her hair was curly.

"We have the perfect gifts!" exclaimed Julia. "The baby is going to love them!"

June nodded at her younger sister's claim. Julia had a tendency to say everything as it came to her without restraint. Turning to the other twin, June asked "Juliet, what do you think?"

Of the twins, Juliet was quieter and more thoughtful. "I like our gifts, but I'm not sure if the baby will like them."

"Why don't you show me. I'll probably know if it's okay having gone through this with you two." the pair complied and revealed their gifts.

Julia went for one of her dolls that she always played with. It was something that she took with her everywhere, which was apparent by the current state of the doll. Juliet on the other hand had chosen her favorite book to give to the baby. She begged their mother to read it to her every night until she could read it for herself.

June sighed. "You can't give these gifts to a baby, think about it. The baby is a boy, he wouldn't know what to do with a doll. Another thing is that he's a baby, he wouldn't be able to read the book and I'm sure mom would rather not have to read another time. Lastly, these gifts are really important to you, are you really okay with letting go of it?"

The twins realized their mistake. "If we can't give him our things, what do we give him?"

June smiled. "Why don't you both give him your baby blankets. I'm sure you don't need those anymore, and I'm sure he will like it." The girls gave a monkey smile and ran back up the stairs to their room.

They quickly came down dragging behind their baby blankets behind them. Julia's blanket was a bright yellow with red designs. In the center it featured a fiery red sun. Juliet's blanket was a midnight blue and featured a yellow crescent moon as its centerpiece.

June took the blankets and said "Good, now I'll sew these two blankets together so we only have to give the baby one blanket." The twins nodded in agreement.

June pulled out some sewing supplies and got down to work. It wasn't difficult to sew together and she finished in no time. "That should do it."

The younger sisters cheering at their big sister's accomplishment. Just then the door opened. A large bulky man with a golden mane for hair walked in. "Girls, it's time to go!" he bellowed loudly.

"Coming!" cried the three girls in unison. June gave the blanket to the twins and they all went.

The father and three girls walked into the hospital room. It was a small room with only one bed. In it, sat their mother while holding the baby. It's pink skin contrasted from the bright golden hair that topped his head. His hadn't opened his eyes yet, but he was still cute for a baby.

"Johanna, how are you?"

"I'm fine, dear." Johanna assured her husband.

"Are you sure? If there is anything that you find inadequate I will-"

"John, I'm fine. Now I want to talk to my adorable daughters." She turned towards the twins who were looking at the baby in awe. "How have you two been?"

"Good!" answered the twins in unison.

"Did you bring anything for the baby?" asked the mother.

The pair nodded. They were eager to show their mom what they had brought. Julia decided to explain everything. "Mom, mom, look June sew together the baby blankets that me and Juliet use to have! Now it's one big blanket and and-" Julia unfolded the large blanket to show. Her mother smiled and patted the Julia on the head. "It's lovely, I'm sure that the baby will love it." The twins ran off wanting to explore the hospital.

Johanna gave her husband a look as she ordered "John dear, you should go after them."

"You're right." John left to find the twins and make sure they didn't cause trouble. This left June alone with her mom and the baby.

"So June, I'm sure you got something for the baby all by yourself, didn't you."

"Yeah," When June first heard that her mother was pregnant again, she resolved herself to save her allowance to buy a gift for the new baby. After saving her money for eight months, she went to the general store and picked something out. The thing that she brought out was a small music box. It was a small box that fit in the hand. It had a flowery design all around its sides and it featured a handle that could be cranked to produce the music.

"Oh June, this is wonderful!" smiled her mother. "Why don't you play it right now."

June listened to her mother and cranked the handle. Slowly the beautiful sound of the music box came out. It was a soothing melody that danced and swayed. It could easily put a person to sleep. After going through it once, Johanna began humming along.

This was one of the reasons June got the music box. Her mother's voice was akin to that of an angels. She was even a professional singer at one point. June loved to hear her mother sing.

The baby did as well. As soon as Johanna started humming, the baby opened its eyes. The eyes were deep blue crystals.

"Ahh" gurgled the baby.

"Aww I think he likes it." commented June.

"I think so too, why don't we keep on going." Johanna continued to hum. "I think he'll grow up to be a musician."

"I'll help!" Johanna raised an eyebrow at her daughter "In any way I can..."

"Okay, it's a promise."


	2. Triple Threat

**Enjoy!**

If one were to go over the river and through the wood they would be surprised to find not Grandma's house, but a large cozy home with plenty of open space. This home belonged to a famous engineer-singer duo who made names for themselves in their respective fields. This was the home of the Arc family.

In the Arc family, every child was required to learn how to play at least one musical instrument regardless of other passions and aspirations. For this reason June received a guitar, Juliet obtained a clarinet and Julia was regrettably given a trumpet. The three sisters were quite proficient in their respective instruments, but June had gone above and beyond learning how to play other instruments. She was at the point where she could teach Jaune how to play piano.

On this specific summer afternoon, one could hear the sound of a piano played by a four year old child. Every so often a person could hear a frustrated grunt followed by the typical blare of piano keys being smashed out of frustration.

"June, I don't like the piano anymore!" Jaune huffed with his arms crossed. "Playing piano is too hard."

June, who was working on some editing for Juliet, put down the pages and pen. She walked over to the little boy. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I can't play the piano right!" fumed Jaune.

"What do you mean by that?" June had been glancing at her brother every now while she was reading and editing. Jaune had perfect form and posture as he played. The sound was also fair and accurate, not a single note missed. There wasn't anything wrong with how he was playing.

"I keep forgetting how fast I have to play or how loud I have to play. It hurts my head." Jaune held his head to emphasize the point.

June smiled warmly at her brother. "Jaune, remember that your musical instrument isn't your enemy. It is the extension of your soul. You need to loosen up and let the piano speak to you. Let the notes guide the conversation."

Jaune stared blankly at his sister. Jaune found that his sister sometimes to use confusing wording. "What?"

"Allow me to demonstrate it for you." June sat down next to Jaune. She began playing the song exactly as written on the score. The notes rang with a cheerful atmosphere. Jaune kicked his feet to the rhythm as he hummed along. June began her explanation. "Jaune, this is the regular way to play it. But you know this isn't the only way to play it."

"What do you mean?" He couldn't think of a different way to play the piece besides the way the music sheets said. That was how he was taught to play.

"You've heard it the normal way, but watch this." June jumped into the next measure. Her pace twice as fast. Jaune jumped at the sudden change in tempo. The cheery atmosphere was replaced with an electric feeling. The sound pulsated with each beat. "See Jauney, you can play it faster and louder or-" the tempo dropped and the music became a whisper. The melody washed over Jaune in a soothing manner. "You can play it soft and slow." June finished playing. "Do you get it now Jauney? You just have to play how you feel. No one is asking for you to follow the music 100%. Play as you please."

Jaune nodded as he took her words to heart. Satisfied with the lesson June got up. "Okay, now you try. No need to care about how loud or how fast, just play." Jaune turned towards the piano and set his hands on the keys. He closed his eyes and searched deep within him to find the way he wanted to play.

He could feel his soul being connected to the piano through his fingertips. It was speaking to him. Faint balls of light flashed on the keys. His instincts told him to move his fingers and play.

June watched her brother sit in silence. His brows furrowed in concentration. June grinned when Jaune's fingers began to move on top of the keys without playing them. 'He really has a special connection to music.'

After shadow playing for a few more minutes, Jaune began to play.

It was magical.

June felt her spirit being carried outside. She felt as though she was standing in a wide open area. The breeze in her hair as the sun bathed her in light. The grass danced in the wind along the music. She saw children running around laughing and free.

"Woah."

June broke her trance. Her eyes locked on the crack in the door to the room. She could see a stripe of blonde through the seam. "No Julia, you can't use Jaune as a model right now."

The nine year old walked in. "Aw, I can't hide anything from you, Sis."

Jaune stopped playing and turned to her sister. "Julie, why do want me to model for you again?"

"Because your proportions are perfect, and Juliet won't do it for me." Julia walked over and hit Jaune on the head. "Also, it's Julia, with an a. JU-LI-A. Don't just shorten it to Julie."

"Aw, but Julie sounds like a good nickname." pointed out June. "Unless you want to go back to Juju."

Julia's eyes widen in horror. "No! Anything but that!" Julia's mind remembered the accursed times she spent under that nickname. Just hearing it made her shiver.

"Julie it is." declared June. June directed her attention towards Jaune. "We're going to see Mom today, have you been practice the other song?"

"I have it memorized." cheered Jaune with a thumbs up.

"That's my little bro." June ruffled his hair. "Keep practicing what I just told you. I'll be helping Julia if you need anything."

"Okay." accepted Jaune. He got back to his practice. The bewitching melody seeped out of the piano. June was prepared and wasn't put into a trance this time. Julia, on the other hand, was completely under the music's spell.

"Let's go, Julia" June grabbed the young girl by the hand and left the room. June dragged the hypnotized girl all the way to the twins' room. The room reflected the personalities of both girls.

On one side, it was painted a shocking pink. The bed was messy and sheets were thrown this way and that. Along the wall hung sketches of different clothing styles drawn up. There were also a plethora of mannequins used as a reference for her clothes, but none really compared to Jaune's figure. Fabric of different colors littered the floor and bed. The only thing neat and orderly was her desk. On it were many little shelf full of ribbon, lace, and thread. Her precious sewing machine sat at the center.

The other side of the bed contrasted differently. It was neat and orderly. The walls were painted a pale blue that matched the sky. The bed was neat and the sheets were made with the corners creased. Along one side was a large bookshelf overflowing with books of all sized. The only messy area was the desk. It had a tornado of papers and writing utensils. At the desk, Julie was holding the end of her pencil to her chin in thought.

"Hey, Jewel what are you working on?" Juliet turned around upon hearing her nickname to see her two sisters. June set Julia down on her bed waiting for the music's effect to wear off.

"Oh hi June. I was just writing an outline for my next story." June walked over to hand Juliet what she edited. "I looked through the story and did some basic grammar and spelling checks. It's a great story by the way."

"Thanks sis. Could you do a quick look over of this story?" Juliet gestured towards the text she was just written up. June skimmed through the outline. After a quick read through, June looked baffled.

"Jewel."

"Yeah June?"

"I know romance runs through your veins, but was it really necessary for the main character to be everyone else's love interest? I mean, even the wolf began having feelings for her? I find it a little...excessive."

Juliet defended her character. "What? She's loved by everyone. No one can resist an adorable little girl. Not even big bad wolves. What's not to love about her?"

June sighed, knowing there would be no fighting this matter. "Okay Jewel, just don't take any of your stories too far."

"Wouldn't dream of it." smiled the nine year old. The truth was that Juliet had already ventured into the realm of adults. Underneath her current outline was her plan for a far more intimate line of works. She was currently looking for a theme to tie it all together. Maybe ninjas was the answer.

Julia had decided to come to shortly afterwards. "Boy, does Jaune know how to play or what." She felt

"He is pretty talented." agreed June. Julia watched June fiddle around with the dress Julia designed. It was a pink dress she planned on wearing for her next birthday.

"June, what do you think?"

"Well," June began picking it apart. "You did a good job of sewing it together. Though you still have a few months before your birthday. Keep in mind you will probably grow a bit in that time. You should add lace here and here to highlight your figure. Remember the dress you made last year? Lastly, I think you should change the bedazzled gems from complete pink to alternating white and pink. It makes the pink of the entire dress stand out more."

Julia took note. She always found it amazing that June could not only keep up with her, but with Juliet and Jaune as well. All while pursuing her true passion. Cooking.

"I'll get started on the changes right away." Julia hopped off the bed ready to fix her dress when June stopped her.

"Hold it, we need to get ready to go see Mom. Dad said we're leaving in 15 minutes."

"Oh fine, just let me write down what I need to do on a piece of paper." Julia flung some fabric to find some paper.

"I'm going to see how Jaune is doing. Get your presents ready and meet me downstairs." June closed the door behind her.

In the end, Julia couldn't find and paper that wasn't already filled with her drawings. She turned towards her twin with tears welling up in her eyes. "Juliet."

"I got you covered sis." Juliet lifted a piece of paper with everything June has mentioned written down on it. Julia swiped the list from her twin. "Thanks, love you sis."

"Don't mention it, now get your present ready. June said dad would be here soon." Juliet set her pencil down and grabbed a neat package from her bookshelf.

"Yeah yeah, don't need to tell me twice." Julia pinned the edits to be made on her dress and pulled out a large paper bag that was topped with tissue paper from under her bed.

The two left the room with their presents. Shortly after, the four siblings packed into the newly bought minivan and headed towards the hospital.

The kids walked into their mother's small hospital room. Interestingly enough, it was the same room she had when giving birth to the rest of her children.

"Hi everyone, it's good to see you." Johanna greeted them warmly.

"Hi, mom" called back the four children in unison.

"You all look older than when I last saw you." joked Johanna. "I'm beginning to think I spend most of my time in this room."

"Mama, where are the babies?" Jaune inquired. The Arc siblings knew that this time their mother had given birth to triplets. Jaune curious to see the new siblings. Being the youngest, he hadn't seen what a baby looked like.

"They're right over there. Their names are Joan, Jean, and Jane." Everyone looked over to see the triplets. They were each in their own separate bed with their names labeled. Each baby looked identical to the other.

"Yes, they're all girls!" cheered Julia. "That means my present isn't going to be weird for any of them."

Johanna gave a curious look to her daughter. "Oh? And what did you bring for the little ones?"

Julia gave a monkey grin as she handed her mom the bag. Inside the bag was a triple of onesies. "Oh, did you make these Juju?"

"Yep." Julia replied through grit teeth. "And we changed my nickname to Julie."

"I'll make note of it sweetie." Johanna looked at the other twin. In her arms was the package she had brought with her earlier. "Jewel, did you bring your own present?"

Juliet nodded and opened the package. Uncovering the wrapping revealed a couple of children's bedtime stories. "I thought it might be nice if you had some books to read to them. Of course there's more than one for variety."

"That's very thoughtful Jewel." Johanna accepted the books graciously. "Jaune, did you bring a present."

"Mama, I don't have my gift with me right now." confessed the little four year old.

"Oh?"

"Jaune has a song he wanted to play, which is why he can't give his gift now." explained June.

"I see, June did you happen to get the girls anything?" Johanna had expected her eldest daughter to have prepared something marvelous, but June seemed to be empty handed.

"Seeing how they're triplets and all, I thought I'd get some accessories to tell them apart." June pulled out a hairpin, two scrunchies, and a bandana.

Johanna looked at the bandana. "Really, a bandana?"

"I was a little busy." reasoned June. She had helped everyone else with their presents, which gave her little time to work on her own. It was a cop out, but she didn't have the time to pull off anything else.

"Fair enough." Johanna looked at the girls she had gotten from the twins. It was obvious that June had played some role in creating them. "Why don't you decide which baby gets which accessory."

June took the objects and walked over to the babies. She gave the hairpin to Joan, the scrunchies to Jane, and the bandana to Jean. Of course she didn't put them on the babies. June merely set them down near the children.

There was a knock on the door and a nurse came in. "Sorry to interrupt, but I would just like to mention that visiting hours are about to be over in five minutes."

John nodded and said. "We'll wrap it up quickly." the nurse nodded back and left the room.

"Come on kids, let's give mommy a chance to rest. I'm sure it's been a long day." Jaune and the twins started to complain until Johanna pretended to be tired. John and the children left so their mother could get some sleep.

Johanna looked at the gifts the twins had given her. "Honestly, every one of them will make it far." She smiled at the future of her children and looked over at the triplets. "You girls will make it far too. I'm sure of it."

"Okay Jaune, let's hear it." Jaune's mother stood next to the piano. In her hands was Joan and Jane who were sleeping quietly. Jean was in John's hands and she was currently being fed from a baby bottle.

The entire Arc family was standing around the piano waiting for Jaune to play. Johanna had the most expectations from this performance. She was eager to see what her son was capable on. Jaune closed his eyes to find his zone. When he found it he began to play. Immediately, Johanna felt the room fill with sound. She could see a starry night sky. Caught off guard by the experience, Johanna hadn't realized the song that her son was playing.

It was the music box melody.

Johanna couldn't understand how Jaune came across the sheet music, let alone play the piece. It was inconceivable that he would be able to play from ear alone. He was only four! The only people who could pull off playing by ear would have been her and...She looked at her eldest daughter. "Oh June"

June smiled. "What can I say, he begged me to teach him song."

The song ended and Jaune opened his eyes. Everyone, with free hands, clapped. "What was wonderful, dear." commended his mother.

"Good on you, Son." nodded his father.

"Well the performance is over, can we go now. I want dinner!" Julia held her stomach as she impatiently looked at the door.

"Yes, let's go." allowed her mother. Julia quickly sprinted out the door and into the dining room. The rest of the family followed after the lonesome twin.

As they walked out Johanna commented, "He's growing up to be a fine musician, isn't he."

"He sure is," agreed June.

"Say, do you think he would be okay with entering piano competitions?"

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes."

 **Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to write as fast as I can for you guys, but I'm a pretty slow writer, so bear with me. Review me as you please, I'm just here for the thrill of writing.**


	3. Cold Encounter

**Hey everyone, Season 3 finished! Now we wait for the next one. While you wait, here's a chapter for you guys to read. Enjoy.**

It's been a rough two years since the birth of the triplets. Many nights went past without sleep and no breaks were given during the day. Had June and the others not helped with watching over the triplets, Oum knows what would happen to the Arc parents.

It was on one fateful sunny afternoon that things were about to get more hectic. Jaune was playing the piano as he has always done for the past two and a half years. He had come a long way since then. Under June's tutelage, he had become extremely skilled for his age, borderline genius actually. He had obtained full control over the piano and could do amazing things with it.

*Ding Dong* The doorbell rang out and the little boy stopped playing. He knew not to open the door to strangers, and was instructed to call someone older to open it. "Mama, someone's at the door."

Johanna had luckily just put the three triplets to bed for their afternoon nap. She rushed towards the door. She turned the doorknob and opened the door. On the other side stood a tall slender woman. She had platinum white hair that spilled down past her shoulders. Her sleek white clothes made of a fine silk. She was quite beautiful and seemingly wealthy.

Johanna gawked at the woman before asking. "Gwen, is that you?"

The beautiful lady stepped forward and embraced the mother. "Hannah! It's so good to see you!" She pushed Johanna away and looked at her head to toe. "You look so young! How have you been? I heard you had some kids, can I see them?"

"I'm glad to see you too, Gwen." sighed Johanna, knowing her friend had a tendency to jump from one topic to the next.

Jaune came in closer and tugged on his mother's clothing. "Mama, who is she?"

"Oh, my where are my manners!" The white haired woman turned towards Jaune and offered her hand. "My name is Guinevere Schnee, actor and singer extraordinaire. Though most people simply refer to me as Gwen." Jaune blinked, not sure what to do. Gwen withdrew her hand and got closer to Jaune. "Is this your daughter, Hannah? She is just precious. I have a daughter her age, I think they would make great friends."

"Umm, my name is Jaune and actually," Jaune started. "I'm a boy."

Guinevere blinked and looked at her old friend. "Hannah, why is your son crossdressing?"

Johanna hadn't noticed what Jaune was currently wearing. He was in a plaid summer dress with a red bow in his hair. Johanna almost mistaken her son for a girl as well, but already knew what was going on. "Julie, what have I said about using Jaune as your model!" Julia ran out from one of her numerous hiding spots and grabbed Jaune.

"Sorry mom, it won't happen again~" giggled Julia playfully as she disappeared with the boy without a trace.

Johanna exhaled, knowing that she needed to have a talk with her daughter, but she turned back to her friend and asked. "So, Gwen why are you here?"

Gwen breathed in deeply. "Hannah, I need to ask for a favor."

Johanna's face darkened. "Gwen, you know how I-"

"Hannah, I'm not here to ask you to come back to the spotlight." reassured Guinevere. "I want you to coach my daughter."

"I beg your pardon?" Johanna gave a confused look.

"My little snow angel, Weiss, was gifted with a voice as sweet as honey, but her tongue is as sharp as steel." explained Gwen. "All of her teachers quit because they found her to be...difficult. She looks up to you, so I thought you would be able to teach her a thing or two."

Johanna shook her head. "Gwen, I gave up my singing career to settle down. I love music, but now I want to just spend time with my family."

Guinevere tried to reason with her. "It would only be an hour a day. I'm not asking for too much, just point her in the right direction. Please Hannah, just this once. It will only be until the end of next month."

"Gwen, as much as I'd like to I-"

"I'll do it." The two ladies looked to find a young teenager with Julia and Jaune in tow. Julia had a large bump on her head. Jaune was changed into a blue t-shirt and some light brown trousers. The cause of these changes was none other than June Arc.

"June? But you're already so busy as it is. I don't think you could keep up." worried Johanna. Along with teaching Jaune piano, helping out Julia and Juliet, watching the triplets, pursuing her own passion of cooking, schoolwork, and just generally helping around the house, June really didn't have much time to just relax.

"Mom, I'll be fine. It'll be like having another sibling to handle." comforted June.

Guinevere looked at the mother-daughter pair. "Johanna, no need to alarm you, but I think there is a need for some proper introductions."

June took the initiative in responding. "June Arc, eldest daughter of Johanna Arc. Age 14 and first year at Signal Academy. I play the guitar, but my mother has taught me everything she knows about singing. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"My word, how polite!" exclaimed Gwen. She took out a piece of paper and handed it to the young teen. "Please come to this address tomorrow at 6:00 pm."

"Oh Mrs. Schnee, I have one question before I accept." halted June.

"Yes?"

"I would like to bring my brother Jaune with me." pleaded June.

"Why would you do that?" inquired Mrs. Schnee.

"Yes dear, I'm curious to why you want Jaune there." pressed her mother.

June explained. "Mrs. Schnee, your daughter most likely needs a pianist to accompany her, so I thought Jaune would be a good choice."

Guinevere understood what the teen was saying. "Oh, we have the accompanist already set. He is the son of the famous Cardinal Winchester. I'm sorry to say there is nothing I can do about that."

"I see, then could I possibly have a copy of the sheet music." asked June.

"Why of course you can!" thought Gwen.

"Then I will see you tomorrow at 6." set June. "I look forward to our next encounter."

"Good, now I must be going." Gwen looked at Johanna. "Hannah, it was so good meeting with you after all this time, maybe we could have lunch and catch up."

"Yes, let's." Gwen smiled and then left in a sparkling black car in the front of the home. Johanna waved her friend goodbye until she was out of sight. Once she was gone, Johanna turned towards her children. "You three. Piano room. Now."

The three kids hurried to the room, waiting for their mother. Their mother was gentle and sweet, but if pushed too far she was akin to the devil. Each sibling had witnessed the fury of the Arc mother and came to fear her wrath.

She came in with a frustrated look on her face. Closing the door behind her, she began the discussion. "First is Julia, did I not specifically tell you to stop using Jaune as your model."

Julia explained her actions. "I just came up with a new design, but I had already used all my other mannequins. I even got Jaune's okay before I did it." Julia had become started a clothing line that was slowly gaining in popularity, though it happen to only feature outfits for little girls.

Johanna turned to her son. "Jaune, is that true?"

Jaune nodded. "Julie said that she would make one of my t-shirts look cooler if I helped out."

Johanna pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Julie, you can't bribe your brother into helping you out. I don't care how good his proportions are. I don't want my son to grow up with crossdressing tendencies, do I make myself clear?"

The girl saluted her mom. "I read you loud and clear!"

"Okay, then you two go ahead and run along. I need to talk to your big sister." The two younger children stared at their eldest sister. "Alone." reinforced Johanna. They picked up on what their mother meant and quietly left the room.

Johanna sat down on the nearby couch and offered her daughter a seat. "June honey, sit down." June complied and sat down next to her mom. "June, I worry about you sometimes."

"Mom?" June couldn't understand what her mom was saying.

"Honey, you have always been the oldest in the family. You are always helping out, and I'm thankful to have you around it's just," Johanna paused. She tried to pick her words carefully. "It's just that I think you might be biting more than you can chew. Teaching is a big responsibility, and though you've been helping out your siblings teaching someone who isn't a part of your family is much harder."

"Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle this. Besides, I'm taking good care of myself, so there is nothing to worry about." comforted June.

"I'll trust you." Johanna got up and walked to the door. "I just don't want to see you fall apart. Take it easy, okay. I'm here for you if you need anything."

"You got it mom." cheered June as she left before her mother.

Johanna smiled as she looked her daughter. "They grow up so fast. Though in her case, maybe a little too fast."

June arrived at the Schnee mansion at 5:45. The mansion covered the same area as the Arc home, but instead of open fields it was all building. June walked up to the front gate. There she found a small button on the gate. Pressing it, a voice responded.

"Ah Ms. Arc, you're early. Please come in." June jumped at the sudden command. The gates unlocked and slowly opened up for her. She steeled herself and walked inside.

As she got to the front of the building a maid bowed and greeted her. She had hazel hair that fell past her shoulders. She looked like she was in her late 20's. "Hello Ms. Arc it is a pleasure to meet you. I am afraid that Weiss is currently in her economics lesson. Please wait in her personal piano room until she is done." The maid guided June through the maze of corridors and rooms to get to a small room.

Inside the room stood a single grand piano. The walls were plain white and a bright light hung from the ceiling. The room was a jail cell with a piano inside.

June faced the maid with a question. "Do you think it would be okay if I were to liven up this room a bit? Maybe add some paint here or there. It's kind of suffocating."

The maid shook her head. "I'm sorry, but the President believes that such things would only distract Weiss from her learning."

June frowned slightly. "That is rather unfortunate. Does Weiss get to do anything a normal child would do?"

The maid stiffened and looked outside the room for people. When the coast was clear she closed the door and whispered to June. "To be perfectly honest, I disagree with the President's methods of raising his children. I'm afraid that they haven't been able to live their lives very joyfully. Every waking moment is meant for them to learn the family business. There is no time for fun and games."

June got the gist of the situation. She should have expected as much from the daughter of a wealthy family. The maid bid farewell, after making sure June wouldn't speak about their conversation to anyone.

June sat at the piano and looked at the bleak room. On the piano was a handful of sheet music that June assumed was what Weiss would be singing to. She read through the music and quietly played it out.

June heard loud footsteps moving down the hall. She saw the door open and a small girl, with the same platinum white hair as Gwen, storm in and slam the door behind her. "Those tutors don't know how to teach at all. I should tell daddy to fire them. They are incoherent fools!"

June blinked at the sight of the little girl's tantrum. It was truly odd to see a little girl say such things. Weiss finally noticed June sitting at the piano. "Who are you and what are you doing here?!"

"I'll be tutoring you until your performance next month." explained June

Weiss scoffed. "Heh, how can you help me? Are you going to test my range? See if I can enunciate my words? Hah! I've already done all that! I'm perfectly fine without a tutor."

"Oh really?" challenged June. "Show me."

Weiss accepted the challenge. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began to sing. It was as Gwen had said. Her voice was smooth as silk and clear as crystal. June would have been shocked by the voice, had she not grown up hearing a voice of a higher caliber.

After a couple of measures June began playing along with the singing. June's ability made it so Weiss never noticed she was playing until the song ended.

"Heh, so you aren't completely useless." grumbled Weiss. "At least you know how to play the piano."

"Well, you're very good at singing for your age." praised June.

Weiss puffed out her chest. "Of course, I am going to be a singer like the legendary Johanna Arc!"

"It seems like my mother has really left an impact on you." mused June.

Weiss faltered and stared at June. "What did you say?"

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name's June Arc, eldest daughter in the Arc family." introduced June.

Weiss' eyes widened at the last name. She walked towards June. "Arc? You're saying that you are the daughter of the legendary Johanna Arc? The singer that took the music world by storm as one of the best singers of all time?" Weiss stood mouth wide open in shock.

"Yes, my mother is that Johanna Arc." confirmed June.

Weiss squealed. "Oh my Oum! Johanna Arc's daughter is sitting right in front of me. And she is going to teach me how to sing?!" Weiss jumped up and down.

"You seemed rather excited." pointed out June. Weiss froze and instantly composed herself.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Tech Company. I am six years old and starting Atlas Elementary for the talented and gifted this year. It is a pleasure to meet you." curtsied Weiss

"No need to be so formal. I'm just here to help you out in any way I can." said June.

"Thank you, but I'm not sure what else I can improve on." confessed Weiss. "My singing is flawless."

"That is true." agreed June. "But I think there is still things we can work on."

Weiss looked at her teacher confused. "What could there possibly be to work on?"

June smiled. "Let's go through the song again. I think you'll find the thing we can work on."

Weiss nodded and stood straight ready to sing. June began playing the intro. Weiss waited and then began singing. June watched the young girl as she played. It was coming up soon. Just as everything was going good June made a horrendously audible mistake.

Weiss stopped and looked at June. "You made a mistake."

June nodded and looked at Weiss. "And you stopped singing."

"Of course I would stop. You have to play it right otherwise I can't sing!" reasoned Weiss.

"But you could sing this part without me playing at all." noted June.

"Well that's..." Weiss wasn't sure how to answer.

"This is what we will be working on." informed June. "Anyone can sing perfectly if everything is perfect. It is true singers who can continue even when everything goes wrong. That's what my mother always said."

Weiss was in awe of this revelation. She bowed. "Please continue with the lesson!"

June shook her head. "We can continue this lesson later. I rather start off by getting to know more about you." June got up and walked to the door. "Also, I want to know more about this house. I don't want to get lost while I'm here. Would you mind taking me on a tour?"

Weiss nodded. "I would be happy to show you around."

And so the two of them spent the rest of the hour wandering through the halls. Weiss explained which rooms she could enter and who to talk to if she needed help.

Weiss' watch began beeping. Their hour had come to an end. June bid her farewell. "It seems like my time here is up. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it." smiled Weiss. June walked out the door, and Weiss went to her room. There Winter was currently on a laptop crunching numbers. Winter looked up at her sister.

"It seems that your music lesson went well." noticed Winter.

"You could say that." Weiss wasn't sure how things would turn out with June, but from the first day, Weiss felt like she might enjoy the lessons. It was refreshing and she was eager to see June tomorrow.

Back at the Arc family home, Jaune was walking around looking for June. He had finally memorized a piece and all the variants he could come up with. "June, where are you?"

Julia noticed her brother's predicament and saw it as an opportunity. "Jauney, what seems to be the problem?"

Jaune looked at her big sister. "Where did June go? I can't find her anywhere."

"Remember yesterday? June's going to teach that one girl a thing or two." informed Julia.

"When will she be back?" asked Jaune.

Julia grinned. 'He took the bait, now I just need to reel him in.' She changed her previous expression with a worried look. "I'm not sure, maybe she likes it over there. She might start living there and she won't ever come back."

Jaune was flabbergasted. The thought had never occurred to him. Tears began trickling down his face. "S-She isn't coming back?"

Julia hugged her brother, rubbing his back to soothe him. "Don't worry, I'm sure our sister isn't going to leave us. So in the meantime, why don't you help me with a new dress I'm working on. It'll take your mind off of June not being here."

"Are you sure?" Jaune wasn't old enough to know that this was a trap.

Julia smiled devilishly. "Of course, now come along. It won't be long before June comes back." Julia ushered Jaune into the room and began her work.

Jaune stood still as Julia fitted clothes on him. When the pair had come in Juliet had scoffed, knowing that Jaune got tricked by Julia again.

Julia glanced at her twin. "Hey Jewel, what are you working on?"

"Oh, just coming up with new ideas for my next book." Her first novel was highly received. But unbeknownst to her sisters, she had also published the "adult novel" she was working on. "Ninjas of Love" was slowly becoming a hit on the scene of adult novels.

Time passed and Julia finished the outfit. "These clothes just look so perfect on you Jauney. Are you sure you aren't a girl?"

"Yes Julie, I am a boy." stated Jaune. Just then, the door was opened and June called out. "I'm home~"

Jaune ran and hugged his sister. "Sis, your back!"

"Did you miss me?" June ruffled Jaune's blonde hair.

"You're not going to leave, right? You'll always be my older sister, right?" Jaune looked at June with puppy dog eyes.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" June looked at her brother, who was once again in girls clothing. Julia had done it again. "Jaune, you need to stop helping Julia with her clothing. Mom would have a fit if she say you like this again. Go get changed, I got something for you."

Jaune nodded. "Okay, I'll go change." He ran off before his mother had come to greet June.

"Welcome back June." smiled Johanna. "How was it? Do you think you can keep going?"

"I think everything will be just fine." responded June. "And, look what I got." June showed her mom some sheet music. "I was thinking now would be a good time to get Jaune in the performing scene. I know he won't be playing for Weiss, but this seemed like a good place to start."

"June, for some reason I feel like you took this job solely for your brother's future." hypothesized Johanna. When June didn't answer she continued. "Either way, look forward to hearing him perform in front of thousands."

Jaune came back down in a more suitable outfit for his gender. "Okay, all changed! What did you get me!?"

June handed her little brother the sheet music. "I got you some new music to try out. I wanted to hear you play it."

"Okay," Jaune took the music and ran over to the piano room. He immediately got down to playing.

June smiled. "He's taken the next to entering the world of music."

 **I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Stay tuned for an appearance of red and yellow on the next chapter of And a Jaune, and a Two!**


	4. Perfect Performance

**Yay, another chapter! Enjoy!**

One month had passed since the start of June's lessons. By now, June's comings and goings became a regular thing in the Arc family and no one was overly worried about her absence.

She held a bag filled with things she would be using during the lesson. "I'm going now." she called out.

"Take care," sent off her mother.

June walked out the door and got on her bike. In the beginning, the Schnee family had sent a luxury car over to pick June up, but she kindly declined. Biking was a relaxing pastime for June and she was willing to bike the 45 minutes it took to get the mansion.

She got to the front gate where the guard expected her arrival. She walked through the front doors and headed straight for Weiss' piano room without paying any mind to the clatter of personnel moving through the mansion.

The piano room hadn't changed since one month ago. It was still the empty dull room that June saw when she first got there. All the staff expected the room to reflect Weiss' sudden change in attitude, but they found the same music room that had always been there.

Or that's what June wanted people to think.

June walked towards one corner of the room. Along the seam was a rope that wouldn't be seen unless one had prior knowledge of its existence. June tugged on the string and pulley systems all around the room started to spin.

A thin white veil that covered the walls descended to the floor. Replacing the solid white was a replica of the auditorium that the competition was to be held in. It even included a large audience of silhouettes to mimic the crowd. From her bag, she brought out some odd miscellaneous objects that she would be using later.

June played the music over again as she waited for Weiss to be done with her other tutors. June had seen Jaune finish memorizing the sheet music and moved on to a plethora of interpretations. The piece gave the feeling of snowflakes dancing on a wintry moonlight night. It sent chills down your spine with its high notes, but maintained a sense of grace and elegance.

In no time, June could hear the quick footsteps of the younger girl. "I'm here!" cheered Weiss as she walked through the door.

"It's test time." reminded June. "Are you ready?" The white haired girl nodded in reply.

"Okay then, let's see how far you've come." Weiss stood in the center of the room facing the false audience. The heiress took in a deep breath and steeled herself for the hardships ahead.

And so June began her seemingly bizarre test. The point of the exam was to test Weiss in the one thing she couldn't prepare for, the unexpected. Even though June couldn't replicate everything that could happen during a performance, she aimed to improve Weiss' focus. So the goal of the test was simple.

Don't stop singing.

No matter what happens.

June had decided to start off by playing the music a few keys lower than represented by the score. Weiss had notice the change, and made mental notes accordingly. The young singer's voice fit naturally into the piano accompaniment.

June smiled as the first test was cleared. June continued playing along to Weiss' voice, every so often hammering down on the wrong notes. At the beginning, Weiss would jump at the sound, but now she didn't pay any mind to the banging. Weiss continued to pass through June's obstacles with ease.

However, June wasn't finished there. All the problems thus far were caused by errors of the pianist. Without missing a note, June effortlessly pressed a button on a remote control that was on the piano.

Speakers along the audience side wall buzzed to life. A mess of people started talking. June had taken recordings of the hallways around her school. The subtle clatter in the background mixed with audible conversations was supposedly impossible to ignore. But Weiss pushed through it all without hesitation. She was dedicating her entire being into singing the song.

June continued her obscure test. A multitude of projectiles were sent across Weiss' vision, camera flashes blinked in front of her, June even stopped playing altogether, but Weiss' concentration never wavered.

Trial after trial, Weiss gave a brilliant performance until the very last note of the song. Defeated, June stood up from her seat and clapped. The older girl pressed her remote and the speakers began applauding as well. True to her nature, Weiss gave a curtsy to the crowd before walking out of the room.

Weiss came back into the room tired. She had put her everything into the chaotic performance. "You did great Weiss, now I guess we just need to improve your stamina from here." June handed the exhausted girl a bottle of water.

The heiress took it graciously, downing the entire thing in seconds. "So, does that mean I pass?" gasped Weiss. She was rewarded with a thumbs up from June. Satisfied, Weiss promptly plopped on the floor.

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Weiss. She was exhausted, but willing to continue with anything June put her through.

June grinned. "I was thinking that we would spent the rest of our time relaxing."

Weiss shot up like a rocket. "Really?!" It was common for June to spend the last fifteen minutes of the lessons letting the little girl act like a little girl. June would let the girl play with dolls, look through cute animal magazines, and even use the time to just sit around and chat. It was somewhat short, but Weiss relished the moment.

"Yes really, you did well today and you deserve a break." commended June. "Besides, I need to clean all this up before someone comes in here." The room looked as though a tornado had ran through it.

June quickly got to work on cleaning up her supplies and returning the room into the boring white walled space it was before. In the meantime, Weiss gushed over a kitten calendar that June offered her.

Time ran out and the two girls left the room. Weiss had an etiquette lesson to go to, and she ran along to meet the stingy teacher who only valued punctuality. June walked to the front door when someone behind her called out.

"Ah, June Arc please wait." June turned to see a taller man with the same snow white hair as Weiss. He had a pair of glasses and a mustache as well. He looked like the mascot of a certain chicken oriented fast food restaurant, but no one would ever say it.

"President Schnee, can I help you with anything?" This was the first time June actually met the man face to face. To be honest, June could feel the father exuding a strong authority.

"Yes, I am interested how my little snow angel was fairing in your lessons. Being so busy, I barely see her at all. Is she holding up?" June could tell that the person in front of her cared deeply about his daughter.

"Weiss is doing fairly well. She has taken my lessons to heart and is improving every day. By next month, she will blow the crowds away." shared June. Mr. Schnee nodded as he took out a small package from his pocket. He handed it to the blonde girl.

"Here is your payment for this month." June hesitatingly took the package. Opening it revealed a thick stack of money. June gaped at the bills, she had never held so much money in her entire life. "I hope it is enough for you." worried the older male.

June closed the package and held it out to Mr. Schnee. "With all due respect, sir, I can't accept this money."

The president laughed. "Nonsense, you deserve this much for teaching my daughter. What's more, I hear that she has been in high spirits ever since you began teaching her. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude."

Reluctantly, June took the money and bid the president farewell. She had no idea what to do with all the money. Even if she had spent the money on gifts for her siblings, she would still have plenty left over. June dismissed the thought and left the Schnee mansion.

The lessons had been going smoothly after the examination. Weiss increased her stamina quite a bit. Now she could handle going through June's nightmare performance twice before collapsing. One week before the performance, Weiss and June were casually chatting after the lesson.

"Hey June, I wanted to ask you for a favor." murmured the heiress. June waited for the girl to give an explanation. It was rare for Weiss to ask June for favors.

"You see the performance is coming up soon and I wanted you to help me pick out my dress." informed Weiss. She usually let the tutor pick the outfit for her and this time was no different.

"Sure, I can help you pick out a dress." smiled June. "I have a great designer in mind." June thought about a crazed trumpet player with a mad passion for young girl fashion.

"Really?! Thanks June, when would we meet this designer?" questioned Weiss.

"How about I meet you tomorrow with them." suggested June. "From there I'm sure they'll be able to come up with something."

"Okay June." accepted Weiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

June waved her student goodbye and went home. Once she got home, June went straight towards the Arc twins' room.

Even though the door was always open, June gave it a knock to let them know she was coming in. "Hey Julie, can I ask you to do something?" June didn't notice her sister crawling along the floor sweeping her hands along the ground.

"Sorry, not right now. I dropped my glasses somewhere." The reason for the glasses was that Julia would sometimes stay up late finishing up a new design in lamp lighting. Her eyesight had slowly gotten worse, but she continued to work in poor conditions. Now with more time to exploit Jaune, Julia spent every night staying up late. The strain on her eyes had finally caught up to her and she was forced to get glasses. "I can't keep track of the accursed thing."

"You're glasses are on your bed." pointed Juliet, who happened to have perfectly good vision.

"Helpful as always sis," commented Julia. She put on her glasses and turned towards her older sister. "What can I do for you, June?"

"My student wanted a new dress for her performance in a week." started June. "I was hoping you could-"

"I won't do it." flatly replied Julia.

"What?" June was shocked by the statement. "I thought you would be thrilled at the request."

"Oh don't get me wrong," corrected Julia. "I would definitely be thrilled, but some stuff came up." Julia motioned towards the sheet music and trumpet on the floor. "Mom tricked me into signing up for that one 'Vale Children's Music Competition' thing."

"Mom wanted to make sure that we haven't lost our touch as we focused on our passions." explained Juliet. "She promised that if Julia won the competition, that she would get a ticket to an Adel fashion show." The Adel family was known to be the forerunners in the fashion industry and they were Julia's ultimate goal. Obtaining tickets to the events they hosted we next to impossible, but apparently they mother was good family friend.

"Oh, did mom enter anyone else? Why haven't I heard of this?" June was sure that her mother had signed up more than Julia for the competition.

"Mom just signed up the both of us." answered Juliet. "Both you and Jaune weren't registered. I mean Jaune plays that piano whenever he can get his hands on some free time. Likewise, you not only teach lessons to that one girl, but you play on your guitar Sunshine every day."

"Fair points," accepted June. "So what did mom promise you?"

"I was promised five books of my choice from Tukson's Book Trade." answered Juliet. The girl was an avid reader just as much as she was a passionate writer. Tukson's Book Trade had been Juliet's go-to for any book she needed. It might not have all the books under the sun, but it definitely had all the books under the moon.

"So there you have it, I'd love to help sis, but I have my hands tied." apologized Julia. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to practice if I want to win that ticket."

"That's really too bad." sighed the eldest sister. Julia was playing hard to get, but June knew how to make her sister crack. "I thought this request would be right up your alley. What with your last clothing line being for kids and all." June glanced to see if the younger sister would take the bait. If all went well, June would get what she wanted.

"That doesn't mean a thing." shrugged Julia. "Not one bit." Julia was determined to resist the elder sister's persuasion. If her practice paid off, she'd get a boundless source of inspiration. Making one dress wasn't worth that much.

June could see the cracks forming in her little sister. It was time to use her trump card. "Oh, did I mention she has the same proportions as Jaune."

Julia hesitated slightly before shifting back into not caring. "Heh, still doesn't mean anything. She can find a different designer."

"Are you sure you don't want to design a dress?" pressed June.

Julia began weighing her options. In the end, she set down her trumpet and looked her sister dead in the eye. "When do I start?" A chance to make a dress for an actual girl that had the same figure as her brother was an opportunity that completely outweighed a fashion show.

"We'll go tomorrow after school." responded June. "Make sure to bring everything you need, okay."

"Roger." Julia had already began packing a bag full of supplies.

The next day June went to the Schnee Mansion. Julia, being her unfiltered self, commented about everything in sight.

"Wow, this was where you were teaching? It's so big!" Julia walked towards the front gate to continue her observations. "Look at how tall the fence is! You'd need to be able to fly to get over it! Hey what's this button do?" Julia pressed the doorbell.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Julia jumped in surprise.

"Sis, the wall just talked!" June shook her head and walked over to her sister. "Hey, it's me. I'm here for Weiss' lesson."

"Oh Ms. Arc! Is that person with you?" asked the person through the intercom.

"Yes, she's the designer I brought in to make Weiss' dress for the performance next week." explained June.

"Ah, I see. Please come in." The gates opened and June casually walked in. Julia ran in after her.

"Oh June, who is this?" The young maid that June met her first time in the mansion greeted the sisters.

"She's the one who will be designing Weiss' dress for her." introduced June.

"Julia Arc, at your service." Julia gave an exaggerated bow.

The maid looked at the younger girl stupefied. "This is the designer you recommended? Ms. Arc, I'm not sure she is qualified, she looks like she is only eleven years old!"

"That's because I am only eleven years old." told Julia. "And I am qualified. For example, I'm the one who made these clothes." Julia gestured towards her shirt that had a heart with a crescent moon inside it.

The maid gasped. "You're the creator of the Arc Hearts!? My daughter just adores your clothing. I didn't know you had such skill."

The maid apologized to June. "Forgive me for doubting you Ms. Arc."

"It's no big deal." waved off June.

"I see you've brought your own supplies." noted the young woman. "We heard from Weiss that a designer was coming in today, so we've also prepared some supplies in the piano room."

"Sweet, now let's get going." Julia walked down one of the corridors. June bid the maid a farewell and hurried to direct her sister into the right room.

"This room is so plain, how in the world do you teach in this atmosphere?" Julia was unimpressed by the scenery. If she was told to stay in such a bleak room for so long, she might go berserk.

"I thought you knew me better than that." June pulled down the white covers from the walls. Julia smiled at her surroundings.

"There's the big sis I know and love." Julia began poking at the multitude of supplies that the Schnee family was providing. Most of it was luxurious good that Julia only saw in magazines. Julia would really have a good time with this project.

"I'm here!" declared Weiss. "Where is the design-"

Julia ran up to Weiss before the girl could finish. "Oh you are just perfect! Stand here and I'll get to work right away." Julia rummaged through her things for some measuring tools.

Weiss gave June a worried look. "Is she okay?"

"She's just a little excited." explained June. "A little crazy too, but she does a really good job."

Julia began taking measurements. "Oh my Oum, her figure is perfect!" By perfect, she meant exactly like Jaune's. An insane grin grew on Julia's face. Her mind was already assembling the mental image of the perfect dress.

"Okay, I've got it." Julia stopped taking measurements and got to work. She decided to use the Schnee's materials to make the dress for experience sake. Weiss moved towards June. "Should I just stand here while she makes the dress?"

"I think it would for the best." June walked over to her sister. "Anything you need me to help you with?"

Julia nodded. "Of course, I do. I only have an hour to make the frame for this thing. You should know what I need." June looked to see the sketches of Julia's design. She got a feel for her sister's vision and got to work.

For the next hour, Weiss watched a storm of blues and whites dance around the room to make the dress. When the hour was up, the dress wasn't finished. However, Julia promised to have it completed by the next day. With that, only six days until the performances remained.

The next few days passed smoothly and it was finally the day of the performance. Weiss was wearing the dress Julia made for her. It was a white silky dress that went down to her knees. It included a snowflake design on all the edges. Blue ribbon circled around her torso and tied at the back. The front was adorned with gemstone snowflakes and a white rose on one shoulder strap.

"Oh, you look absolutely adorable!" gushed Gwen. "Smile for the camera." Weiss gave her best smile as her mom took tens of pictures of her little girl.

"Oh Hannah's daughter really picked a fabulous designer. I'm sure you will be the star of the competition this year!" Guinevere hadn't been around the house because of her job, but from appearance alone, she could tell Weiss had come a long way from two months ago.

"Come on mom, let's go." Weiss walked to the car with her mother trailing behind to take a few back shots of her daughter.

June was already at the venue of the competition. The competition was divided into Junior and Senior divisions. Weiss would be performing in the junior division while the Arc twins would be in the senior one. The junior division would start in the morning, and the senior division would be held in the afternoon.

For this reason, the rest of the Arc family wouldn't arrive until later that day. June had dressed in a simple light yellow dress for herself. She looked at the clock and saw there was plenty of time left before the actual performance. When June spotted a large expensive car arrive with two silver haired people coming out, she waved.

"June!" Weiss hurried over to her teacher and gave a twirl. "How do I look?"

"You look lovely Weiss." said June happily. Julia had really pulled out all the stops for this dress. "As do you Gwen."

"Oh June, I can't thank you enough for tutoring my daughter." Gwen gave June a nice hug. "Now where on earth is Cardinal Winchester? He should be here with his son by now."

"It's still pretty early, I'm sure they'll be coming in later."

Just then a phone began ringing. Gwen opened her purse to answer it. "Hello? Yes, this is Guinevere Schnee. What do you mean that they won't be coming? I thought we had this planned for months! What do you mean they had to put on a funeral for the family's pet cardinal? I will speak with you later, we have a lot to talk about." Gwen angrily put the phone back into her purse.

Gwen vented her outrage. "How could they stand up my daughter like that!? Who did those fools think they are dealing with?"

Weiss pulled on her mother's dress. "It's okay mom, I don't need a pianist to help me sing."

Gwen had calmed down enough to explain to her daughter the situation. "I'm sure you don't honey, but we still need an accompanist. We had it written down when you registered. If you show up without one, then you would be disqualified."

"Don't worry, I think I should be able to handle." stepped in June.

"June, can you play the piano?" wondered Gwen.

"She can play really well." confirmed Weiss

"Is that so, but I'm afraid that we'll need someone younger. The rules stated that all accompanist would have to follow the age limits set out." groaned Gwen. "Why such a rule exists is beyond me, but rules are rules."

June could feel the opportunity rising. "I think I know of a pianist who fits the bill. They just happened to have practiced this song for the last two months as well."

Gwen gave a suspicious look. "So that's why you asked for the sheet music...Did you, by any chance, plan this to happen?"

June shook her head. "I had no idea that anything like this would happen. I just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. You know, have a plan B."

"Very resourceful of you June. Okay, call your pianist over here. I need to make a few phone calls until the performance." Gwen walked off with phone in hand. Someone was going to pay for this mishap, if it's the last thing they do.

June went to one of the public phones, since she did not own a cell phone of her own. "Hello, Mom? I need you to send Jaune over here with the sheet music I gave him a while ago. Yes, something came up with the other pianist. Just bring him here as fast as you can. I'll see you in soon. Love you too mom."

When June was finished, Weiss faced her worried. "Is everything going to be okay?"

June pat the younger girl on the head. "Everything will be fine. Just you wait, this performance is going to be the best one you ever had."

The competition began and Jaune had made it there safely. Luckily, Julia wasn't around during the phone call so Jaune was dressed in a black suit jacket. Weiss was set for the last performance in the junior division.

"Let's give a hand to Ruby Rose for her outstanding performance." The crowded cheered for the little four year old. There was a standing ovation that lasted for five minutes. Her music had swept the crowd into a frenzy. How would anyone top that off?

Backstage Weiss watched as the girl dressed in red walked off the stage. A girl dressed in yellow gave the little pianist a thumbs up before engaging in a bear hug. Weiss took a deep breath in to calm her down.

"It's time for your final test." whispered June. After this performance June would no longer be Weiss' teacher. Weiss knew that this was going to be it, but she was going to give this performance her all. Though, Weiss didn't see the pianist June had picked, since he was waiting in the other wing of the stage, she was confident that the performance would go well.

"Now, last but not least, a singing performance by Weiss Schnee. She will be accompanied on the piano by Cardin Winchester." The announcer was simply reading off the card and wasn't informed of the change. Most of the audience were still abuzz from the previous performance, so they also didn't notice the replacement at the piano.

Weiss walked to center stage and looked at out to the crowd. The last performer's presence still lingered. The judges for the competition were also satisfied with the performance. Weiss would be fighting an uphill battle if she wanted any chance at victory.

"Okay, I'll be starting now." mentioned Jaune behind the piano.

"Let's show the crowd what we got." encouraged Weiss. The pianist of unknown skill was going to play for her, but since June recommended him, he couldn't be terrible.

And then it began.

Weiss had blinked for a moment, but she was already transferred to an entirely different place. She was standing in a snow covered field. Snowflake slowly danced down from the sky. There was a breeze that made your body tingle. Weiss could feel her entire being immersed in the song. She opened her mouth and began to sing.

June smiled as the two played. "These two are amazing." She was recording the performance down on a camcorder that Jaune had brought with him when he arrived. She panned out to the audience.

The audience stopped talking immediately. The lingering spirit of the other girl vanished in the wind. When the piano started, they were already trapped at Jaune's pace. By the time Weiss started, no one moved a muscle. Everyone was captivated by the bewitching melody that was ringing through the hall. The judges stared with mouths wide open.

Weiss felt like she never did before. Her voice sounded clear and perfect. She felt like she could sing forever without ever getting tired. Hearing the melody getting picked up by the piano was like a work of art. The way the notes came together with her voice was the most natural thing in the world. June had been true to her words. This performance was bounds above anything she had ever experienced before.

Jaune smiled as he played. He could feel his soul in harmony with the piano. His fingers were light on the keys and without a single mistake. Jaune had chosen to play the music in the way that felt the most natural to him. The ebb and flow of the piece bent to his will. But he wasn't done with just changing the pacing of the song. He had picked up a new way to play from the hearing the twins practice.

He learned how to medley.

June recognized the changes in the music. The hidden song wrapped inside the performance, unnoticeable to anyone unfamiliar with the piece. It was beyond even June to think that Jaune had pulled off something of this caliber. To hear the pristine sound of the main piece amplified by the improvised portion was exhilarating.

Jaune had blended in his favorite lullaby into the music.

Weiss didn't even notice the change as she sung her heart out to the audience. She was having the performance of her life and nothing would stand in her way.

The last note was sung. The last note was played. The end of the song brought in an ethereal silence to the auditorium. No one was sure how to react. The music was still playing in their ears.

Then from the back, someone clapped.

It was none other than President Schnee. He had come just in time for his daughter's performance. He was utterly blown away by the skill his little angel showcased. He could do nothing more but clap in awe.

People came out of their trances. The clapping grew, soon everyone started standing up and cheering. Suddenly, the entire hall was in an uproar. Weiss gave a curtsy and walked offstage. Jaune had given a bow and done the same. As they left, the crowd started chanting for an encore. The judges, who felt like they had already known the winner, we're thrown for a loop and then some.

"You did wonderful Weiss." congratulated June. "You pass with flying colors."

Weiss hugged her tutor. "It was all thanks to you." Weiss felt that everything that happened these past two months was because of June. Weiss felt so alive and energized thanks to June helping her along the way

June patted her little singer's head. "All I did was guide you down the right path. You were the one who took all the steps." June looked to see Weiss' parents standing near the exit. "Now go and accept the praise that is rightfully yours." June sent Weiss off to her parents. From afar, the two nodded towards the fourteen year old before leaving quickly as to not get caught by the media.

"You did great too, little bro." Jaune had made his way towards his sister.

"I think so too." concurred Jaune. "I like playing the piano in front of people."

"Sure, now why don't you tell me where you picked up how to medley." June gave Jaune a light shove. "I'm sure I didn't teach you how to do it at all. Where on earth did you pick it up?"

"I picked it up from Julia and Juliet." answered Jaune. "They were playing their songs, and it kind of fit, so I thought I could do the same."

"You got real lucky this time when you picked that lullaby. Why don't I teach you some basics when we get home." the siblings left the backstage area and went off to get something to eat. The rest of the family was coming later and June had some money on hand. Besides, Jaune deserved a treat after the performance he gave.

The brother and sister went to a nearby restaurant. June ordered a salad and Jaune had asked for a cheeseburger. They casually ate and chatted to each other about how things were when June wasn't home.

As they were finishing their meal a little girl dressed in red came up to Jaune. "Hi, my name is Ruby Rose." She held out her hand in front of the little boy.

Jaune shook the hand. "My name is Jaune. Jaune Arc."

Ruby smiled brightly at Jaune. "You were soooo good when you played back there. I was a little sad that I didn't get first place, but knowing I lost to you is fine."

June grinned at the new information. Even though Jaune was only a fill-in accompanist, he still was part of the first place performance.

"Thank you." replied Jaune.

"Say, do you want to go and play together? Being with just my sister gets pretty boring, so why don't you come with us!" requested Ruby. She turned to June. "That is, if it's okay with you."

Jaune looked at his sister for an answer. June rolled her eyes and gave Jaune her approval. "You can go ahead and play. Just remember to stay close by and come back before the twins perform. I trust that you will be careful."

"I will! Thank you June!" Jaune got up and followed Ruby off to some place where another girl in yellow was waiting. June sighed as his brother was walking away with a girl he just met. June believed in making good friends at a young age. As long as it doesn't turn into a romantic relationship, if June found Jaune dating anyone, there would be hell to pay.

June watched as her brother was with two girls, one in yellow and the other in red. The girl dressed in yellow quickly ran off leaving the other two by themselves. After an awkward moment the two went down the street and into a nearby store. It seemed like they would be playing there.

Satisfied, June decided to walk around the venue. She saw many families cheering up their teary-eyed children who didn't make it to first place. She also saw many older kids around her age getting ready for the senior division competition.

At some point June met up with her family. Julia and Juliet were getting ready for their respective performances so the parents were left with watching over the triplets. Johanna noticed that June was alone. "June dear, where is Jaune?"

"He's out playing with his new friend."

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"Ruby Rose."

"Rose...Oh! That must be Summer's daughter! Does that mean she and Qrow finally got together?" cheered Johanna. She was going to have to catch up with her high school friend, but then she realized something. "Wait a moment, are you saying that my sweet little baby is running off with some girl?"

June could feel an ominous presences coming from her mother. "Umm Mom, I understand how you feel and I can explain-"

"Juniper Delilah Arc, do not try to reason with me right now." June flinched at the use of her full name. She had only heard it three times in her life. None of those times were very pleasant. "I asked you to look after your brother, not let him get involved in some superficial relationships!"

Johanna was about to give a full lecture the girl when she noticed that Joan had walked off towards a boy practicing on his saxophone. "We will talk about this later young lady. Do I make myself clear?"

June nodded as her mom went to retrieve the child. "I really screwed up there, didn't I." contemplated June.

"No, you did fine." asserted John. "It's just that your mother is rather sensitive when it comes to relationships. She wants to make sure that all of you grow up before you start dating."

"Is that why she wouldn't let me go to that cooking class when I was six?" June remembered the first time her full name was used against her. After that, Johanna taught June everything she knew about cooking.

"Yeah, you mother was worried you might meet some boy and have a secret affair behind her back." apologized John. "Please don't hold it against her."

"If anything, I think I might take after her in that sense." June remembered the twinge of anger she felt when she let Jaune go play with Ruby. "I wonder how Jaune's doing."

Ruby and June met up with the blonde girl Ruby was with back at the auditorium. "Oh Ruby, aren't you going to introduce your sister to your boyfriend?" teased the girl.

"Yang, he isn't my boyfriend! He's just a friend." retorted Ruby. Yang was the reason why Ruby went up to Jaune in the first place.

"Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt you two lovebirds, so I'll just hang out with my friends now. Bye," Yang disappeared in a streak of gold.

The pair stood awkwardly in the middle of Vale. Ruby was the first to break the silence. "Hey Jaune, play me something!" begged little Ruby. The performance that he gave just wasn't enough. She wanted to hear Jaune's piano again.

"But, there isn't a piano around here." Jaune motioned to the piano less scenery before them.

"I'll show you a place with a piano" Ruby lead the boy down the street and around the corner.

Jaune was lead to the nearby music store called Crow's Song. The store was currently showcasing a sparkling glass piano outside. It was dazzling in the afternoon light. The piano was completely transparent, save the keys which were their standard color.

Ruby dragged the boy inside where an old man with gray hair was reading a newspaper behind the counter.

"Uncle Qrow, can my friend play on the sparkly piano?" pleaded Ruby.

Qrow didn't spare the kids a glance. "Sure why not, the pianist I had set is coming in late. Might as well let someone play it. Just make sure they wear gloves or something when playing on the piano." Qrow absentmindedly handed Ruby a pair of gloves. With that Ruby looked intensely at Jaune.

"So are you going to play for me?" hoped Ruby as she offered the boy the gloves.

Jaune sighed and took the gloves. "Alright, I guess I can play something for you."

Jaune hopped on the glass piano. He sat there for a moment to relish its splendor. As he finished appreciating the instrument, he closed his eyes and began playing. It was the same song he played during his performance with Weiss

However, this time with a more energetic interpretation. The song was crisp and sharp. The pace was fast and upbeat. Ruby felt as though the refracted light from the piano was dancing as he played. She could tell that it was the same song, but her ears just wouldn't believe it.

People close by caught hint of the music and slowly came to the piano. There were amazed that such a little boy was producing such a sound. Soon a few people had become a crowd. By the time Qrow had noticed anything, the street was packed with people trying to get a better look.

Qrow put down his newspaper and moved around the crowd. There were so densely packed that he couldn't even squeeze his way through. Just then a male with golden blonde hair ran up to Qrow. "Sorry about being late Qrow, what's going on?"

"Your little Ruby brought a friend to play on that glass piano." explained Qrow. "It seems that he's pretty good, maybe even better than she is."

Taiyang Xiao Long would have found the statement impossible to believe if he hadn't heard the piano in that instant. "He is pretty tale-" Taiyang realized something crucial.

"My daughter is with a boy!?" Taiyang tried to get through the crowd. Somewhere in there was his daughter with a member of the opposite sex that was her age. That was something he wouldn't allow until they both graduated high school and got accepted into a prestigious college. In terms of being a doting parent, Taiyang was evenly matched to Johanna.

Jaune had repeated the song a few times in because he wanted to keep playing on the piano. He seamlessly started back at the beginning, so no one noticed the song had repeated itself. He also changed his playstyle, trying to find the right way to play on this unique piano. After reaching finding the style he liked with the piano, Jaune stopped playing and opened his eyes.

The crowded roared in applause. They all cheered and clapped for the boy who performed on the piano. Ruby, who was sitting next to Jaune the entire time also clapped for him. Jaune got up and gave a bow.

"I guess I should get going. My sisters are playing in the senior division." Jaune moved his way through the dissipating crowd.

Ruby grabbed his hand before his could get too far out of reach. "Wait!"

Jaune turned and looked at the young girl. "Jaune, let's play again some time." Ruby gave a monkey smile.

"Okay," nodded Jaune. Ruby let go of his hand and watched as her new friend disappeared among the people. She let out a sigh, she wished that the two of them could have played together longer.

"Well, there will always be next time." perked up Ruby. She headed out in search for her own sister, who had run off to who knows where.

Taiyang and Qrow had watched the little scene unfold. Qrow of course holding Taiyang back from wanting to pummel "that little brat" for daring to touch his little Rose. "You honestly need to stop being so hypocritical." grumbled Qrow.

"Who cares if I'm a hypocrite, that boy held Ruby's hand. He needs to pay for tainting her innocence!" Qrow groaned at his brother-in-law's rage. With a quick hit to his head. Taiyang was knocked unconscious. Qrow dragged the man back into his music store.

The senior division of the competition was rather uninteresting. Most of the contestants barely held a candle to the performance from Jaune and Weiss, except for the Arc twins. The two had given phenomenal performances.

In the end, Juliet had won the competition, due to her concentration on practicing without any other major duties. Johanna was still pleased with Julia's performance and gave her the ticket to the Adel fashion show.

A few days after the competition, a package came in the mail filled with June's "compensation" for tutoring Weiss. The family decided to save the money in each of the children's college funds. Little did they know that the Arc family had yet to be complete.

 **Phew, this chapter was really long. Well, I hope you liked it. Send a review my way and tell me how I'm doing so far. Watch as the final Arc sibling arrives and character development ensues on the next And a Jaune and a Two!**


	5. Pursuing Passions

Recapping last chapter, our story's protagonist, Jaune, found himself helping out in a spectacular performance with the ever talented Weiss Schnee. With the event a success, Jaune finds a fateful encounter with the adorable four year old Ruby Rose. Now with the competitions done for the day, the Arc family drives home, where things are only just beginning.

John parks the minivan in front of the home and everyone spills out of the vehicle. When everyone was out of the car, Johanna said to her family. "Well, everyone run along. I need to talk to these two. Alone." She gestured towards Jaune and June. The rest of the family understood, leaving three family members to walk into the piano room. Johanna closed the door behind them and stood before her two children sitting on the sofa.

"Well, it seems like the two of you had quite the adventure today," huffed Johanna. "Care to tell me how it went?"

Jaune raised his hand, as was standard practice when more than one of them was having a "talk" with their mother. Johanna nodded, so Jaune could begin. "So I went to play piano for sis, which was really fun. After that we went to go eat. I got a cheeseburger, which was really good. Then Ruby came up to us and asked if I wanted to play. June let me go, so I did. Then, Ruby and I went to this one music shop. They had this really cool glass piano. Ruby's uncle let me play on it. After I finished playing, I went back to the auditorium."

Johanna was satisfied with the response. It was clear that Jaune didn't do anything wrong, so he didn't deserve any kind of reprimanding. "Okay, you can go." Jaune hopped off the couch and left the room. Johanna sighed as she looked at her eldest daughter. "June, tell me why exactly did you allow Jaune to go play with a stranger, who I might add, was a girl?"

June had taken the time to prepare a reply in the car. "Mom, I think Jaune needs to experience the world a little more. I mean, he spends most of his days just sitting in this room and playing that piano. He barely has any friends at all. If there is an opportunity for Jaune to make friends, then I would take it in a heartbeat, regardless if they are a boy or girl. Furthermore, I did keep an eye on them, up until they started playing on the piano."

Johanna considered her daughter's answer. "If you put it that way, then it does seem like you did the right thing."

June smiled at the success of her persuasion.

"But," warned Johanna. "If I see my little boy getting a girlfriend before he graduates high school, it will be over your head. Do you understand?" June accepted the responsibility, and why wouldn't she? Anyone who dared to make their move on her younger brother had better gotten her approval before they so much as hold hands in public.

"I'm glad we had that cleared up. Now, did you record the performance?" Johanna had been busy taking care of Julia, who was having a wardrobe malfunction right before the competition.

June pulled out the camcorder and handed it to her mother. Johanna flipped it on and began watching the film. June had filmed it from Weiss' side so June wasn't in the recording until he left the stage, but Johanna could recognize the distinct music box melody playing near the end of the performance. When the recording finished, she smiled warmly. "Oh I wish I was there to see him."

"It's was a magical performance," concurred June. "The entire audience was stunned."

"Well, I'm adding this to my cabinet of 'firsts'." Johanna opened a cabinet where she stashed away her other prized possessions from her other children. So far, the cabinet had Julia's first design, Juliet's first story and the recipe June used for her first time cooking, because Johanna knew better than to keep the first thing June cooked. "Oh, the memories," reminisced Johanna. "You were all so young back then."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Honey, you should come and listen to this."

Johanna and June walked out of the piano room to see everyone else sitting around an old radio. The radio was the father's most prized possession, having received it when he was a young boy. Right now the station they were on was playing a classical piece on the piano.

When the song was finished, an announcer began speaking. "What you just heard, was the silver medalist at this year's Vale Music Competition junior division. The performer was four year old Ruby Rose, who almost swept the judges, if it wasn't for our gold place winner, Weiss Schnee. Her duet with Cardin Winchester was absolutely phenomenal. Critics raved that...'10/10 would definitely see again'...Anyway, we will be playing the recording of the winning performance shortly."

June looked at Jaune and gave him a knowing look. Cardin's name was written in the program and Jaune was introduced as such. It was fair to think no one knew about the last minute substitution. The radio host continued.

"In other music news, a local music shop gathered droves of people, when a young boy began playing on their displayed glass piano..." The anchor trailed off.

"I just received some breaking news. It has just been confirmed by several eye witness testimonies that our Cardin Winchester was also the one at the music shop, citing that the same song was played for both locations. Has a rising star in the music world been born?-"

Johanna turned off the radio. "Well, it seems like someone has made quite the name for themselves, using your talents. Doesn't it, Jaune?"

Jaune sat on the floor without the slightest care. "Well, all I did was play the piano. It's not like I tried to get people's attention."

"Hey Jaune," started Julia. "Why not let people know who you really are and sign up for a piano contest? I hear there is the annual Dust to Dust Piano Competition is coming up soon."

"Oh, that's a perfect idea Julie!" clapped Johanna. "Jaune, what do you think of that?"

"Sure, why not?" shrugged the little boy. "I'll just be playing the piano again, right?"

"Okay then, I'll sign Jaune up," smiled Julia innocently. And so, Jaune's registration was left to Julia, leaving Julia's true motives yet to be seen.

A week after the competition, Jaune was back in the piano room. He was currently playing several different pieces at the same time, since June was helping him mesh songs together. Just as he was getting close to a good combination, he heard his mother talking rather loudly, surprisingly so, as the doors to the piano room were supposed to be soundproof.

"Regardless of what you say I am coming over there and we are going to have a nice long talk," maintained Johanna. "I spent far too long hunting down your contact information to have you not be talking to me. I'll meet with you shortly." Johanna forcefully slammed the phone into the holder.

"Honestly, I had to go through so much work just to get in touch with that man," grumbled Johanna. "Don't even get me started on Summer. It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth or something."

June had gotten off the piano and approached his mom. "Mommy, are you okay?"

Johanna looked at her son with a happy smile. "I'm fine dear and perfect timing. I'm going out to see an old friend. Would you like to come with me?"

"Why are you taking me?" asked Jaune confused. "Usually you take June with you." It was customary that Johanna would bring along June to her long catch ups with old friends.

"Yes, but your sister suggested that you get out of the house more," explained Johanna. "So I thought that I'd take you instead. Besides, everyone is busy. June is doing some experimenting with Eastern cooking. Julia is out of the house at the Adel fashion show. Juliet has been locked in that room of hers ever since I got her those books. The triplets will probably cause too much trouble if I bring all of them and I can't bring one of them, since they don't like being separated from one another. Which means," Johanna pointed at her only son. "You, who aren't doing anything too important, will be coming with me."

It was hard to argue with that reasoning. "Okay, so what I do have to do?" Jaune wasn't sure what was required of him.

"Nothing much, just say hello." Usually, when June joined along, she brought some things to do. After the initial greeting, June would work on those things quietly while her mother chatted away.

"Okay then," agreed Jaune. "I guess I'll come along."

Johanna smiled. "Good, now let's get going."

The two walked out of the house and headed to the meeting location

After a quick drive into the city, the pair casually paced across the music hall. Jaune hurried along after his mom as he recognized the scenery from a week ago. "Mom, who are we meeting?"

"Oh, just some old friend, who happens to have a shop in the area," replied Johanna. "We're a bit early, so why not explore town for a bit?"

"Oh! Mom there is this really cool piano over that way." Jaune remembered the brilliant glass piano that he played on last week. "Come on, I'll show you."

Jaune ran ahead, excited to see the beautiful piano again. However, when he turned the corner, the piano wasn't there.

Confused, Jaune walked inside the music store. "Hello?" he called out.

"Ah, the piano genius has returned!" declared Qrow behind the counter. "Thanks to you, business has been booming."

"You're welcome?" hesitated Jaune. Qrow's words weren't reflecting his tone.

"That just means more work for me," clarified Qrow. "Honestly kid, if it weren't for you. I'd have closed up shop by now, but all these customers keep showing up." Qrow gestured to the handful of people browsing through the merchandise.

"Then, I guess I'm sorry?" Jaune wasn't sure what the older male wanted him to say.

"Ah, it doesn't matter," finished the man. "If it hadn't been for you, I bet my niece would have stayed on that boring old island for the rest of her life."

"Do you mean Ruby?" ask Jaune.

"You bet I mean her," confirmed Qrow. "Ever since that stunt you pulled last week, she's been begging to stay here with me. Honestly, how could things get worse?"

As if the author of this fanfiction could hear his words, things did get worse for the man. At that moment, Johanna stepped into the shop. "Jaune, are you in here?"

"Speak of the Grimm," groaned Qrow. Johanna made eye contact with Qrow and started walking towards him as he said. "I'd know that mane of golden blonde anywhere. I guess you're here too."

"It seems you've been doing pretty well for yourself," noted Johanna. "Not really the plush mansion you kept rambling on about, but it's still something."

"Yeah yeah, I let my dreams be dreams," waved off Qrow. "I still have to make a living somehow."

"But selling overpriced music supplies?" scoffed Johanna as she looked at the price tags. "You really think anyone would buy things if you set the prices this high?"

"That's actually not true," corrected Qrow. "These things are almost at the base price set by those music companies. If anyone is making it hard for people to buy, it's those big brand corporations."

"Sure sure, it's always the big businesses," acknowledged Johanna. "You can talk about our country's economic situation when we go to have our chat."

"Is that why are you here?" questioned Qrow. "It's bad enough that I have to deal with this little piano genius."

Johanna looked down to see her son. "It seems you've already been acquainted with my son."

"Figures that this kid is yours," grunted Qrow.

"So where are your children, Qrow?" wondered Johanna.

"I don't have any brats," answered Qrow.

Johanna gave Qrow a questioning look, but Qrow didn't respond. Just as she was about to say more, Ruby walked in. "Qrow, I got the things you asked of me..."

She looked over to her uncle to see her newest friend. "JAUNE!" squealed the little girl as she rushed to meet him.

Johanna tried to hide her scowl and looked over the girl. 'Without a doubt, this is Summer's daughter.' thought Johanna.

"Thanks kiddo." Qrow grabbed the paper bag. "Now, why don't you go run off and play?"

"Okay," Ruby turned towards Jaune. "Hey, do you want to come with me?"

Jaune turned towards his mother. "Can I, mom?"

Johanna looked at the pair of children. The amount of cuteness was almost unbearable. After a moment, Johanna cracked. "Okay fine, just remember to play safe."

With her permission, Jaune and Ruby ran out of the store to play. Johanna gave a heavy sigh, as though Jaune was moving out of the house to settle down with some stranger girl.

"Don't mind them, they'll be in the park close by," comforted Qrow.

"I'm aware of where they're going," stated Johanna flatly. "Anyway, close up shop and meet me in that nearby coffee shop."

"Yeah yeah," Qrow directed his attention to the people still looking through things. "Alright, everyone out. I'm closing up shop."

One of the shoppers called back. "But I'm not done looking."

"Well, I'm done looking at you. Get out." Reluctantly, everyone left the shop. Qrow locked up the shop. To his misfortune, Johanna had been standing by the door waiting for Qrow. Of course, he could have just locked the door from inside, but with Johanna's temper in play, Qrow would be paying for more than broken glass.

"Okay, let's go to that coffee shop," initiated Qrow. The two adults walked into the coffee shop and sat by the window that overlooked the playground. Johanna had gotten a black coffee, while Qrow had his personal flask filled with some sort of liquor.

The two chatted about how things had been going. Qrow talked about his simple days at his store, while Johanna talked about all of her children. They moved the conversation to reminiscing about their time back at high school. Recalling all the insane pranks that they pulled was an astounding feat. At some point, Summer's name came up.

"Now tell me," began Johanna. "How is it between you and Summer?"

"We aren't together" informed Qrow.

There was a pause in the conversation.

"You're kidding, right?" insisted Johanna as she brought her coffee cup to her lips.

"Nope, we never got together," reiterated Qrow.

Johanna spit her coffee all over Qrow. "WHAT!? What do you mean you never got together? You and Summer were like the golden pair. Everyone thought you two would end up together. You two did everything together. I mean you guys were even voted "Beacon's best couple". What happened?"

"She died," curtly put Qrow. "That's what happened."

Johanna blinked. "Oh... that's what happened." Johanna took a reserved sip of her coffee. She had no idea of the situation.

Qrow wiped off the coffee that she had spat at him. After wiping up most of the mess, Qrow began the tale of Summer's tragic end.

"A few years ago, she was going to Atlas for a concert, you know how she always loved performing. She was always willing to do anything for her fans. She traveled all across the world just to meet them. Then one day, she decided to go to Atlas. Of course, this was the first time that she was going to Atlas. I told her hundreds of times not to go, seeing how sketchy it is to travel to Atlas. In the end, she got on the next flight straight over. On the flight over to Atlas, there was an engine failure in the plane. The thing crashed into open water. They searched the debris for weeks. No one found her body. No one has seen her since." Qrow rested his forehead against his propped up arms.

"It must have been hard on you, Qrow," sympathized Johanna. She knew how much Summer had meant to Qrow. It made sense why he ended up running a mediocre music shop instead of being a living legend. However, something didn't connect in the story. "Qrow, if you and Summer never got together, then why does that little girl resemble Summer so much?"

Qrow grunted at the observation. "That's because that little girl is Summer's daughter."

Johanna raised an eyebrow. "Is that so..." Was Qrow saying that the two of them did the deed, but never got married?

"I'm not the father," cleared up Qrow. "Tai is."

Johanna slammed her hands on the table. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You're saying that the Summer got together with that playboy, Taiyang!? For Monty's sake, if anyone is going to do it with her, it should be you!" Johann slouched back into her chair. "That's it, I give up. I don't understand anything anymore."

"I'm glad you feel that way," commented Qrow. He got up and looked at the blonde woman. "And before you ask, I'm only looking after Ruby because she wanted to go to school here. I mean, Tai does teach at Signal, but apparently it's more fun hanging out with me." Johanna scoffed at how similar Ruby was to Summer.

"Well, it's been a real fun time," ended Qrow. The man walked out of the coffee shop and headed down the street. When Ruby saw her uncle, she ran up to him. The two walked towards the dusty old music shop hand in hand.

Johanna watched the endearing scene as Jaune walked into the coffee shop. "Did you guys finish talking already?" From his voice, Johanna could tell that her son wanted to play around longer.

"Yep, so now we can go home and have some dinner," cheered up Johanna. "I'm sure that your sister has something great in store for us."

Jaune perked up at the prospect of tasting June's cooking. "Yay! Let's go home." Jaune was practically dragging his mother out of the coffee shop for them to get home.

When they got home, June did indeed have something special for everyone. She had prepared a delicious rice noodle soup known as "Pho". Everyone devoured the meal almost instantly.

When the meal was finished June and her mother went to go do the dishes. As they finished they found John still sitting at the table. "Ah, can you two sit down for a bit," called John. From the looks of it, he wanted to talk, so June and Johanna sat down.

"June, I'm going to be on a trip over to the East starting next week," started John. "Seeing as you're exploring Eastern cooking, would you like to come along?" It was a typical thing for the father to travel every once and awhile, but this was the first time he thought of bringing one of his children along with him. June stared at her father wide eyed.

Just as June was about to accept, Johanna spoke up. "John dear, I think you might be getting ahead of yourself. June isn't even in high school yet. Why on Remnant would you want to bring her with you?"

John took a deep breathe before speaking. "Honey, I know you want to keep all the children here at home, but you need to let them explore the world more."

"I am letting them explore," defended Johanna. "I let Julia go to that fashion show, didn't I?"

"That's the thing," pointed out John. "You let them go out, but only for a single day. Experiencing the world takes more time than a single day. Do you remember how we first met?"

Johanna blushed at the memory. "Of course I do..."

"Then, I'm sure you remember how we ran off without your parent's permission see the world? I'm sure you also remember how we spent more than a single day out going to all those different places," reasoned John. "So why not let your daughter experience something similar? Besides, I'll be there with her so there isn't too much to worry about. What do you say, Hannah? Do you think you could let your daughter see the world?"

Johanna pursed her lips together. It was true that she wouldn't be who she was today, if she hadn't run off to see the world. And now she realized just how much anguish she caused her parents. It was a difficult thing, watching your children leave home. "Okay, she can go."

June lit up. "But," added Johanna. "I don't want this trip causing you to skip school. Remember to come home before school starts again. Okay?"

"Yes!" replied June. She ran up to both of her parents and gave them big hugs as she thanked them. Then, she ran off to start packing right away.

Johanna felt a sting in her heart as she watched June run off to her room. John held her hands. "You did the right thing," smiled John.

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Johanna. "You'll be with her the entire time. It's not like you're the one who has to watch your first child leave the house without you."

"At least you know she's in good hands," assured John. "Don't fret, I'll make sure she doesn't run off with some boy while she's there."

"You had better John," warned Johanna. "She is still my baby, no matter how old she gets. I'm fine with her going out to see the world, but that doesn't mean I'll let her have a boyfriend."

"Protective as always," noted John. "Well, I'm sure the triplets are making a mess somewhere. I'll go clean it up." John left Johanna at the table to brood over her decision. Has she done the right thing? Only time could tell.

Now with John and June out of the house, Johanna focused most of her effort into Jaune. After all, he was entering the Dust to Dust piano competition. It is an annual contest held to find the best kid pianist in Vale. The event was fairly large scale, second only to the Vytal Sound, which is a Remnant scale music festival. The competition was still four months ahead, which gave Jaune ample time to practice.

It was during one of these practice sessions that the rest of his family started to worry a bit. He had dedicated so much time practicing the piano that he skipped meals and even slept less. Yet, his exhaustion never to showed. Usually, June would help curb his unhealthy drive, but seeing as she was currently away from home on a trip to the East with her dad, nothing was stopping the boy from practicing for hours on end.

The first one to do something about Jaune was none other than Julia.

"Jaune, come here," called Julia.

"What do you need Julie?" asked Jaune.

"I think you've been playing that piano for a little too long. Why not change things up a bit?" encouraged Julia. He had been playing for the last seven hours.

"What do you mean?" wondered Jaune. "I haven't been playing for that long. Besides, I've been making a lot of mistakes lately, I need to practice."

Julia frowned at the little boy's logic. "Jaune, you've sat on that piano for seven hours already. You haven't eaten anything all day. You need to take a break."

Jaune started to protest. "But I-"

"No arguing," interjected Julia as she quickly threw the boy over her shoulder.

"Hey, let me go!" cried out the boy. But, Julia paid no attention to her brother's complaints and carried him out of the piano room. Luckily, Julia had become use to the boy's struggling with past experiences, so carrying him up into her room was no challenge.

The siblings got into Julia and Juliet's room. Julia plopped Jaune down on Juliet's bed as she stood over him. "Julie, let me go back and practice," insisted Jaune.

"No," denied Julia. "Not until help me."

"Okay fine, what do you want me to do? Model for you?" guessed Jaune.

"That too," liked Julia. "But there is something more important than that."

"More important that designing clothes?" gasped Jaune. It was known that Julia would rather make clothes than do anything else, including eating. For something to be more important than that was hardly imaginable.

"Yes," confessed Julia. "This is more important than me, because it's about the triplets."

Jaune understood what Julia meant instantly. "This is about what the triplets are going to do for their hobbies, isn't it."

"Their instruments too," added Julia. "Obviously, June would have done something for them, but she's been busy with plenty of things. Not to mention that she's away with dad on that trip. So, mom has called upon the rest of us to help the trio along their journey in life."

"If it's the rest of us, then what about Juliet? I don't see her around." Jaune looked over to Juliet's side of the room. It was neat and orderly, as it always was. Though, the desk was actually looked messier than usual. However, the writer was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, she's hiding in my closet. Something about how she found the 'truth' that the world has been hiding from us," explained Julia. "It happened ever since she read that 'third Crusade' book. She started getting paranoid. So, I don't think she'll be much help to us." Julia opened her closet to reveal her sister crouched in fetal position. She rocked herself back and forth as she muttered incoherent phrases.

"I see..." evaluated Jaune. "So I guess it's just you and me."

"Precisely," nodded Julia. "Well, Juliet actually had some books that might help us out." Julia walked over to Juliet's desk and shuffled through the mess. She pulled a couple of books and showed them to Jaune.

Jaune looked through all the options. There was hairstyling, drawing, dancing, singing, filmmaking, underwater basket weaving, and so much more. Jaune decided to flip through some of the books that he found interesting. Julia was doing the same.

"Do you have any suggestions, Jaune?" asked Julia after reading over her fifth book.

"I think we should figure out what they like to do," thought Jaune. "I mean, it would be kind of mean if we just force them into doing something."

"Great idea," praised Julia. "Let's go see what they think." The duo went to go see the triplets.

They found the three girls in their room with their mother. What was before the two siblings was the standard scene that anyone would find the triplets doing an any other day. One of the girls was sitting in their mother's lap while the other two were running around doing something.

"Ah, Jaune and Julie. Is there something that you two need?" asked their mom.

"No, we were just picking out what the triplets might be doing with the rest of their lives," responded Julia.

"Okay then, remembered to tell me the choices before you do anything," told Johanna.

And so the challenge began. Jaune and Julia

Joan was running around the room and nearly jumping off the walls. Her hair was tied into a braid along with a pink hairpin to keep her hair out of her face. Now and then, you could see Joan messing with their mother's hair. Though, instead of annoyed complaints, the mom felt as though her daughter wasn't even touching her hair.

"Well, I think learning how to be a hairstylist would be good for Joan," pointed out Jaune. "I mean she does have a fascination for hair."

"Right, and she'll probably grow up to play saxophone. Seeing as she would always run off to the sax players during the music competition a few weeks ago," recalled Julia.

"I think those are wonderful ideas," approved Johanna.

"Okay, that means one sibling down. Two more to go," grinned Julia.

Just then, Jean walked up to her two older siblings and pointed at them. At first, no one could understand Jean, until she pulled down her bandanna tied around her neck. "Ja! Jua!" exclaimed the little girl as she tried to pronounce the names of her older brother and sister. Though the short haired girl wasn't acting like it now, she was a troublemaker. She had taken it upon herself to hang around their dad's workshop, which in itself was bad enough. She seemed to enjoy watching their father work on his mechanic things.

"I think Jean's taking after dad. I mean she does follow him around a lot," observed Jaune.

Julia nodded in agreement. "I think so too. This means that Jean will probably do some mechanic work and her instrument will be the drums."

"My, that really does sound like your father," mused Johanna. "I think it would be interesting to see that happen."

With that, another sibling's path was laid out for them. The last triplet, Jane, was quietly flipping through a picture book while she sat in her mother's lap. Out of the three triplets, finding what out what Jane wanted to do was the hardest.

"What do you think we should do with Jane," asked Julia. "I mean, she is quiet and doesn't do much really."

"Maybe she'll be like Juliet and do writing," guessed Jaune. "She does like to read books."

All of a sudden, Joan tripped over some toys and fell down. The little girl cried out in pain. It was at this moment that Jane crawled out of her mother's lap and went to help her sister. She began touching the place where Joan probably hurt the most. After some time, Joan quieted down.

"Maybe a doctor?" assessed Jaune. He could see that Jane had a knack for helping people.

Julia held up a hand and shook her head. "No, I have a better idea."

Jaune and Johanna waited for the answer.

"Jane will grow up to be a masseuse," declared Julia triumphantly. Her declaration was followed by a silence.

"What? I think that it's a good choice," muttered Julia.

"What's a masseuse?" asked Jaune. Even though, he had looked through Juliet's books, the term never came up.

"It's someone who relaxes other people's bodies by touching them," explained Julia. "And that is exactly what Jane just did."

"So, what do you suggest for her instrument?" put in Johanna.

"Well..." Julia took a moment to think about it. "Why not the violin?"

"Any particular reasoning behind that?" inquired the mom.

"Not really, I just thought it would be cool." shrugged Julia.

And so, Jaune and Julia had come up with a final decision for the triplet's path in life, of course Johanna approved of these decisions as well.

"I think we did a pretty good job," reviewed Jaune. "These seem to be a good match with each of the triplets."

"I think so too," agreed Julia. "Well, before we can help them out, I guess we'll need to learn how to do each thing for ourselves."

Jaune picked out the introduction books of the skills that they would be learning. He eventually found an introduction to massage book in Juliet's bookshelf. "Okay, so which things should I learn?"

"Well..." trailed off Julia. "I was thinking that you should learn all three of them."

"Wait?!" exclaimed the boy. "But I have a piano competition in four months. I won't have time to learn all of these things!"

"Easy," calmed Julia. "You'll just start out with learning how to massage. Do it in between practicing for the competition. For now, I'll cover you when it comes to hairstyling and I'm sure that dad will come back and teach Jean."

"Why do I have to learn hairstyling then?" pouted Jaune. "I mean you could just teach Joan how to do it."

"Ahh I could," accepted Julia. "But, hairstyling has its uses and I think you should at least try to pick it up."

Jaune wasn't even sure what to say. In the end, he cracked open the massage book and gave it a few good reads. After a week of reading the book and practicing piano, he started trying out what he learned. It turned out that all the piano playing had given Jaune good hands for when it came to massaging people.

After two months of practicing, Jaune had become the go to person when it came to sore muscles. He still had a long way to go, but he was gaining confidence in his skills. Also, the switching between piano and massaging curbed his piano playing immensely. However, his found that he was making fewer mistakes when he played piano. Switching between the two subjects allowed Jaune to clear his mind and relax.

Jaune couldn't wait for June to come back home. He was proud of what he learned and wanted to show June as soon as possible. It just so happened that June would be coming back next week.

 **For those of you who don't know. There are two fanfictions out there,** _ **Hair**_ **by SleepinEyes and** _ **Massages**_ **by H'te Rarpee, that I found really funny. They're both shenanigan stories about Jaune's "hidden" talent. Go check them out. Anyway, thanks for reading as always. Leave a review of how you think the story is going so far. Stay tuned when we actually get to meet the final member of this Arc family. Next time on And a Jaune, and a Two.**


	6. Rightful Reunions

It was a beautiful day in Vale. Summer was almost over and a light breeze blew over the town, hinting towards the coming fall. On this particular day, a certain fourteen year old blonde stepped off of an airplane. She had just come back from an exhilarating journey to the East.

"Ahh, it feels good to be home." June stretched her arms as she got off the airplane.

"You can say that again," agreed John as he walked behind her carrying their bags.

"Too bad airport security is such a pain," grumbled June. June had planned to make plenty of exotic cuisines for everyone back at home. To do this, June was bringing back plenty of ingredients that weren't common in Vale.

However, her plans were foiled by airplane customs. For policy reasons, they would have to ship the foodstuff using the provided mailing service. Unfortunately, the cost was more than they could afford, so June had to leave the supplies behind.

"Now now, everything will be fine." comforted John. "I know a place where we could probably get all those ingredients right here in Vale."

June perked up. "Really?"

John smiled. "Yep."

"Can we go there now?" begged June.

It wasn't often for John to see June actually wanting to do anything for her own sake, so the pair took a detour before heading home. They walked out of the airport and called a taxi. John gave the driver the address and they headed into the shopping district of downtown Vale.

Because of John's current profession as a mechanic, he was knowledgeable about all the different stores that were housed in downtown Vale. One in particular, had the ingredients that June was looking for. It was none other than, Lie's Eastern Groceries. Their slogan was "Prices so low, they seem like Lies". Right next to market was the Valkyrie Armory. John had become familiar with the market, since he frequently went to the armory when he needed specially made parts.

The father and daughter got out of the taxi and walked into the food store. As they opened the door, a redheaded girl dragged a black haired boy out of the shop. They looked around Jaune's age and June thought they could be friends with her younger brother, but the children had already ran off.

In the grocery store was a multitude of exotic foods. There were plenty fruits and vegetables that June recognized, but just as many that she had never seen before. Along with the produce was other colorful bottles and bags that wouldn't be found in a regular supermarket. Behind the single counter was an older man with dark hair tied back. He was reading a newspaper in a foreign language as he stroked his superb mustache.

"Lie Zhou," called John. "Good to see you."

"Ah, John." acknowledged Zhou as he set his newspaper aside. "It has been many moons since we last met. How have you been?"

"I've been well," commended John. "It seems like you haven't aged a single day since I last saw you."

"Well, I can't say the same for you, old friend." The man looked over to June. "Ah, what a beautiful lady. I assume this is your daughter?"

June took the opportunity to introduce herself. "My name is June Arc. First daughter of John Arc." June gave a slight bow, as she has seen her father do many times throughout the trip.

"How well mannered! My name is Lie Zhou. I welcome you to my shop." introduced the older male. "Feel free to browse all you like. I just received fresh ingredients yesterday."

On this cue, June began exploring the store. She grabbed a shopping bag and started getting the things that she was forced to leave behind back at the airport. The two older men watched as the fourteen year old shopped around.

"She seems to know what she's doing," commented Zhou. Though, he could only expect that much from the daughter of John Arc, the legendary wanderer, said to be known throughout all corners of the globe.

"Yes, she recently got into Eastern cooking, so I decided to take her East. However, we ran into some trouble on the way back with airport customs. So we chose to stop by here for supplies," explained John.

"Is that so? If it's about Eastern cooking, I'm sure I can teach her a thing or two." Zhou held his forearm with pride. Cooking had been his hallmark back home. When he came to Vale, he was planning on creating a restaurant, but he found that gathering ingredients was nearly impossible. In the end, he resolved to create a grocery store so no one would need to experience what he had.

"No, I couldn't impose," kindly refused John. "You've done enough as it is, by having this shop and providing supplies that my little girl needs."

June walked up to the counter with her basket full of ingredients. "I finished shopping."

"Ah June, how would you like to learn more Eastern cooking from me?" asked Zhou.

"What, really?" Honestly, June had been a little bummed out ever since they got on the airplane coming home, but everything changed since then. She got introduced to a store full of every exotic ingredient she could think of, and now she had the chance to learn how to cook every last ingredient. Today was really her lucky day. "Yes, of course I'd love to!"

"Good," commended Zhou. "Come by whenever you feel like cooking up a storm, and I'll give you some pointers."

"Okay, thank you!" June payed for the food and walked out of the shop with her father. They had finished their little detour and could finally get back home.

Back in the Arc house, Johanna was pacing back and forth near the front door. She was quite anxious to see her husband and daughter come home. Every night since they left, she would call them to see if they were alright and about how there day has been.

"They said they would be back two hours ago. Where could they be? Did they get in an accident on the way home? Did the plane crash? Was there a bomber at the airport?" Johanna check the clock once again to confirm that they had passed the time estimated time of arrival.

Just as Johanna was about to go down to the airport herself, the door opened. "I'm home." shouted June. As she opened the door, her mother came up and gave her a big hug.

"Oh June, it's so good to see you again. How was the trip? Did you have fun? You didn't meet any boys, did you?" Before June could answer any question John stepped in between the two.

"Now now Hannah, no need to be so hasty." laughed John as he hugged his wife. "There will plenty of time to interrogate her later."

"I am not interrogating my daughter," huffed Johanna. "I was simply asking how she's been!"

"Oh course you were," humored John.

Drawn to the noise, Jaune rushes down the stairs to meet their sister. "June!" cried the little boy as he ran up to give his sister a hug.

"Did you miss me?" asked June as she ruffled through Jaune's hair.

"Oh June, you're back." Julia came down the stairs. In her hands was her introduction to hairstyling book. She was just about to test out her skills when she heard June coming in. "I'm surprised by how little you actually tanned. Did you stay inside the entire trip?"

"I spent most of my time indoors in different kitchens." answered June. "I can't really grow the ingredients here, so I focused on making the food."

"Is that so? Well, did you get us anything?" eagerly asked Julia.

"Julie, it isn't polite to say that," chastised Johanna.

"Mom, it's okay. And yes Julie, I did bring something. Anyway, where's Jewel? I haven't seen her yet." June had expected Juliet to come down as well.

"Oh, she's a bit busy right now." replied Julia.

"Oh?" questioned June.

"Yeah, she says she needs to finish this next chapter by tomorrow, or it won't get published." It happened that during June's trip, Juliet eventually came out of the closet. She came to realize that the events in the Third Crusade was nothing more than an elaborate ruse. This propelled Juliet to write in a way to make others question the boundaries between fiction and reality. The style change gave her new ideas for a new novel. Additionally, the change made Ninjas of Love series turn from a guilty pleasure to a treasured work of art.

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll go up there after I put my stuff away," affirmed June.

"Don't worry, she'll come down for dinner. You can talk then," stopped Julia.

"Speaking of dinner," interrupted Johanna. "I think now would be an appropriate time to show us what you've learned, June."

"It would be my pleasure." June grabbed her grocery bags and headed for the kitchen. Her family was going to be in for a big surprise.

She pulled out her ingredients from her groceries bags. There were some greens, rice products, meat, and a variety of spices. The rest of the ingredients were already at home. She got out some eggs, limes, peanut butter, some vegetables and other simple seasonings.

June began cooking. She washed and cut her vegetables into strips. She cooked up the eggs into elegant rolls, which she would cut up into strips as well. She cooked the meat as well as some rice noodles. When those were done, she took peanut butter, lime, sugar, garlic and mixed them with a sauce she got at the groceries.

The fragrance of the sauce and protein excited her hungry family members. The others watched as June set out her meal:

Plain bowls of ingredients.

Johanna blinked at the surprisingly unfinished meal. "June dear, are you planning to mix everything right here at the dinner table?"

"No, I finished all the cooking," insisted June, "This is it."

"Are you sure dear? I mean, I guess we could make some kind of noodle dish with this, but it doesn't seem like you made any soup." Johanna looked at her daughter. "What exactly are we eating?"

"Ahh, yes. We'll be having spring rolls today!" June showed her mother a round container filled with large cloudy thin disks. "Normally, people get them pre-made, but I thought it would be cool if we chose what we wanted to eat."

"Oh, I see. This is quite interesting." praised Johanna.

June pointed at the foods they had to pick from. "We have a lot of choices. There's carrot, daikon, cucumber, okra, lettuce, avocado, egg, rice noodles, and beef."

She opened container of the paper-like rice wrapper. "Dad, could you get that large bowl of hot water, please."

John complied and brought the bowl close by. June took one of the rice wrappers and quickly dunked it into the hot water. When she pulled it out, the thin pastry became nearly translucent and quite soft. She quickly set it down on one of the plates and handed it to her mother. "Here mom, pass it around."

Soon everyone had a wrapper and stuffed it full of ingredients. The triplets had it filled for them, since they were too small to make it themselves. However, the could still eat it on their own since it was just finger food.

Johanna took a bite out of her roll and once again looked a little disappointed. "June, this is good, but I wish it had more flavor."

June facepalmed. "Oh right, I completely forgot the sauce!" She ran into the kitchen and came back with individual dipping plates filled with a caramel colored sauce. "I got a recipe for a really good sauce that goes well with these spring rolls. Here, this'll make it taste amazing."

True to her words, the flavor improved immensely. Soon, June was constantly dipping new rice wrappers into the hot water bath just to keep up with demand. Fortunately, by the time all the wrappers were gone, everyone had eaten their full.

"It seems like you've learned quite a bit on your trip." complemented Johanna as she wiped sauce off of Joan's face. Meanwhile, the twins collected the empty dishes and went to go wash them.

When the dishes were washed, everyone gathered in the piano room. As promised, June was going to hand out souvenirs for everyone. First was her mother. June handed her a small box. Inside was a finely made necklace made of jade. The centerpiece of the necklace was the family's crest surrounded by little pieces of metal that represented June and her siblings.

"Oh June, this is lovely." gushed Johanna. "Thank you."

"No problem mom," June when through the box and pulled out a brilliant red dress with intricate golden design on it. The dress covered everything from the neck down, with a slit starting at midthigh.

"Julie, I got you this dress that I found. Please be careful with it, the dress costed a fortune just to get it." Julia moved her hand over the article of clothing she just received.

"Oh silk, so smooth. I'll go put it on right now." Julia nearly got up when she was met with the unforgiving gaze of her mother. Julia quietly hunched over as she continued to stroke the dress in anticipation.

The rest of the gifts went by quickly. Juliet received some books though they were in a foreign language. Jaune got some sheet music that June transposed from what she heard. June wasn't kept up to date with how the triplets were doing, so they were given some sweets. The assortment included green tea kitkats, orange chocolate, and jelly straws. Of course, Johanna took all the sweets so she could regulate her children's sugar intake.

With all the gifts given, everyone went back to their own devices. June put her bags away and peeked inside the twin's room. Inside, she could see Juliet furiously writing. Her pace seemed slow, but anyone could tell that there was a lot of thought put into each word. Meanwhile, Julia was carefully putting on the dress. She twirled around enjoying the freedom that the dress offered.

Although, the room seemed the same, under further inspection June noticed a few changes. On Julia's side of things, there were sketches of hair styles among the dress designs. There was also a mannequin that consisted of only a head and cutting tools beside it.

"Julie, did you decide to go into hairstyling?" asked June.

"No," answered Julia. "I'm picking up hairstyling so I can teach Joan."

"Oh? So what are you doing Juliet?" included June.

"I only got out of the closet last week, so I'm not doing anything really. Though I plan to take up massaging when I have the time." responded Juliet as she continued to focus of her chapter. "Right now, Jaune is taking that up massaging."

"Speaking of Jaune, I should go check up on him," remembered June. "I have to make sure he's ready for the Dust to Dust Competition.

June went downstairs to check up on Jaune, when the phone started ringing. As June went to get it, Johanna rushed before her and pick it up.

"Hello?...Oh Qrow. Sorry, but we'll have to cancel today...My daughter just came back so I rather have him home...I think you'll manage somehow...No, I can't just 'Drop him off.'...Give her something to do...I don't know, let her help you fix some instruments or something...Good luck to you then...Okay, if you'd like, we come by tomorrow...Sure, 2PM is fine...Okay, meet you then...Bye"

It seemed that while June was away, something had happened. June waited for her mother to explain the what was going on. "What was that about?"

"Oh nothing, just an old friend." waved off Johanna.

"It didn't seem like it to me," pressed June. "Something fishy is going on..."

"Okay fine, the truth is..." Johanna paused for a bit. "The truth is that Jaune has been having weekly play dates with Ruby..."

Alarm bells exploded in June's mind. She wasn't what sure how to react. Her first thought was to scream and yell at her mother like a madman, but she kept her calm and assessed the situation. There must be a reasonable explanation to everything. "And how did that start?" inquired June.

"Well..."

It was a week after Johanna had met up with Qrow. Jaune had yet to begin his training as a massager, and was still quite dedicated to practicing piano. It was at this time that Johanna received an unexpected phone call.

"Hello, who is it." answered Johanna.

"Hannah, it's me, Qrow."

"Oh my, what could you ever possibly be calling for," teased the mother.

"I need to ask for a favor," admitted Qrow. "My niece has been harping at me all week because she wants to see that brat of yours. Could you send him over?"

"Having a hard time?" mocked Johanna. "I was sure that you could handle one little girl. I guess I was mistaken."

"Haha, very funny. Laugh it up. So anyway, will you bring him over here?"

"Nope." rejected Johanna.

"Come on Hannah," plead Qrow. "I don't care what I have to do, just bring your darn kid over here, so I can get this kid of my back."

"Oh really," smirked Johanna. "Well, if you're willing to do anything, then I'll take you up on that offer."

"I'm probably not going to like what you're going to make me do, but at least it's better than this runt." Johanna could hear the little girl complaining in the background. "Come on Uncle Qrow, when can I play with Jaune?"

"Ruby, be quiet and wait." Qrow turned his attention back to the phone. "So, when is the earliest you're available?"

"This Saturday should be fine." arranged Johanna. "I'll meet you at your shop."

"Okay this Saturday, got it. Until then," bid farewell Qrow.

"Yep, bye." Johanna set down the phone. She turned around to catch a peek of her son eavesdropping behind the kitchen counter.

"Jaune," called his mother.

"Yes," whispered Jaune as he obediently came into view.

"It looks like you'll be meeting your friend pretty soon," informed Johanna. Jaune jumped up and down at the news until something stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait mom, you're okay with this?" Jaune found it hard that his mother was allowing him to do something as "scandalous" as a play date. There must be an ulterior motive.

But Johanna answered sincerely. "Yep!" Jaune tossed aside his doubt and continued his cheers.

That Saturday Johanna and Jaune met up with Qrow and Ruby. The children went to play in the park once again, and Qrow finally realized what Johanna was after.

"Wait, you're telling me to not only give you these musical instruments, but also provide maintenance and accessories for these other ones, too? And all free of charge?" checked Qrow. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Well, if you don't like the price I can just take Jaune home." Johanna began walking out the door.

Qrow grit his teeth. "Wait!" he called out. Johanna turned around and waited with a playful smile.

Qrow took a deep breath in. "Okay, you win. I'll get these things arranged for you."

Johanna tilted her head. "And the cost?"

Qrow clicked his tongue. "It'll all be free of charge." Johanna was satisfied with the agreement.

"You better come by every week," reminded Qrow.

"Okay then, it's a deal." accepted Johanna "I'll be wandering around downtown until I decide to take Jaune home."

"Sure, have fun," grumbled Qrow as he watched his alcohol money walk out the door. He was going to need a drink after this.

"Did this really what happened?" asked June. There was no way the events could have actually played out.

"Yep, it all happened," assured Johanna. "See, I even took pictures of last week's play date."

Johanna pulled out a camera and started sifting through the photos. It seemed as though the last play date was held at the nearby zoo. June could distinctly see her little brother very close to the little red clothed girl. June looked through all the photos taken at the last six play dates the two had together.

"Okay, so they have been going on playdates," accepted June. "But did you really get all those things at the music store?"

"You have four new sets of extra strings for your guitar. Two are nylon and two are steel. You also have your own travel bag, tuner, capo, and different sized picks to choose from." revealed Johanna. "You can check your room if you don't believe me."

June bolted for her room. There was no way her mom could have gotten all those sweet accessories. However, there they were silently sitting near her precious guitar, Sunshine. June ran back downstairs and hugged her mother. "Oh, thank you!"

Johanna smiled softly. "Oh don't mention it sweetie, I had this planned for your birthday present, but you went off with your father, so we couldn't celebrate it together."

"This stuff must have costed so much! Did you get things for everyone else?" June wasn't sure how much everyone else had gotten, but if it was anything close to what she got, then Qrow must be broke by now.

"Oh, don't worry about what everyone else got." comforted Johanna. "Besides, there isn't much you can add to a piano."

Mentioning the piano reminded June of why she came downstairs. "Oh right, I was going to check up on how Jaune was doing."

June took a peek into the piano room where she found Jaune completely immersed in the music. After hearing Jaune play for all of his life, June was immune to sudden visual hallucinations. However, June could still envision where Jaune was taking the music. This time, he was taking the music into the forest. A serene place where pockets of sunlight opened on the cool earth below. Far in the distance you could hear the steady flow of a river. It was majestic.

'Jaune is more than ready for the competition' surmised June. She slowly closed the door and left Jaune to focus. June couldn't wait to see Jaune perform in front of everyone.

Finally the day of the competition had arrived. The amount of contestants was rather large, so it was going to be held over a series of days and there would be multiple rounds that determine winner. It was a few hour before the start of the competition that Julia intentions came to light.

When everyone was already seated, Julia and Jaune were going to sign in at the front. It was at this moment when Julia "accidentally" spilled some orange juice all over Jaune's elegant white tuxedo. The stain was removable, but now wasn't the time or place to clean it. Luckily, Julia just happened to have "spare clothes". Julia quickly rushed Jaune into the bathroom and got him changed.

"Julie, do I honestly have to wear this?" blushed Jaune. He squirmed in a custom-made sky blue dress that dropped a little below his knees with a royal blue sash circling around at the waist and tied into a bow on the back. It was an extremely simple design for a dress, but as Julia put it. 'Jaune looks best in a simple look.'

"Well you can't wear your tuxedo with that stain on it. You'll just have to wear this." reasoned Julia as she smiled at her gem of a younger brother. "Oh! Put these shoes on. It'll match with the dress better."

"Won't it be weird if people saw a boy dressed up as a girl," protested Jaune as he took off his pristine white dress shoes.

"Oh I think have that covered," assured Julia as she stuck a name tag on Jaune. "Now go sit down."

Jaune walked to where other contestants were waiting in the lobby. From here, the children would be called backstage to prepare to perform before the judges. Jaune decided that he would sit down and look over his music a little bit before his turn. While Jaune was sitting down, he was approached by a familiar red themed youth.

"Mind if I sit here?" The little pianist had already sat down next to Jaune.

"Go ahead," shrugged Jaune absentmindedly.

The little girl persisted to converse with Jaune. "It's a nice day outside."

"It sure is,"

"You have a very nice dress on. You look very cute in it."

"Thanks, my sister made it for me."

"Really!? I don't think my sister could do something like that."

"Yeah, my sister is just weird."

"Are you in the competition too?"

"Yep."

"Oops," realized the girl. "I forgot to introduce myself. Hi my name is Ruby!"

Jaune looked away from his music for the first time. "Ruby?"

"Yep, that's my name," confirmed the girl.

Jaune noticed that his friend didn't recognize him. "Ruby it's-"

"You're nametag says Jennifer Arc." read Ruby. "Does that mean that you're related Jaune? He said that he would be here today."

"That's the thing, I'm right-" Just before Jaune could explain, the front doors burst open. At first it was a mass of reporters spilling into the lobby. As they cleared out, Cardin strut into the hall.

The swarm of reporters caught everyone's attention. All the journalists were trying to get a quick interview before the competition began. It appeared that all the attention Cardin was getting these past few months had really inflated his ego. Ruby pouted when she saw the piano "genius".

"Gah, everyone thinks he's really talented because they think he was the one who played at the music competition, even though it was actually Jaune who was playing." voiced Ruby.

Cardin walked past all the other kids and laughed. "You all might as well go home. I'm going to be winning this competition and there isn't anything you guys can do about it."

Ruby got up from her seat and stood in front of Cardin. "Hey, what's the big idea with being mean to everyone else?" protested Ruby.

"Do you even know who I am?" scoffed Cardin. "I placed first in the Vale Children's Music Competition. That means I'm the best!"

"Yeah right, you didn't even play for the competition. You're just a big old phony!" cried out Ruby.

"What did you call me?!" Cardin got closer to the annoying little brat who was stirring up trouble. "What's a brat like you doing in a place like this? This place isn't for little babies. Go back to mommy and daddy."

Ruby puffed out her chest with pride. "For your information, I got second place at that music competition and I did it all by myself. Besides, it wasn't you who got first. That girl who was singing was the winner. The piano just accompanying."

Before the argument got any more headed, an announcer came into the hall and called for the next contestant. "Ruby Rose, get ready behind stage. You're on in five minutes."

Ruby quietly turned around and walked towards the announcer. "Welp, I'm off," smiled the Ruby, who had already regained her composure. "Take care Jennifer, wish me luck!"

"Okay, good luck." sent off Jaune.

The contest was held in the auditorium. Most of the people in the audience were family and friends, since it was only the preliminaries. Although, the press did show up because of Cardin. In the front row was a panel of judges. Among them was Gwen Schnee, who was quite bored with the performances so far. She could hear the whispers of the journalists continuing to prattle on about Cardin.

"This year seems like it will be an interesting year. Don't you agree, Gwen?" asked one of the judges next to her.

"Bah, all the performances up until now have been subpar. I was expecting more from this generation." grumbled Gwen.

"But what about that Cardin Winchester boy? Surely, you've heard recordings of his performance by now. His talent is astounding!" praised a piano teacher.

"Hah, don't expect much from those no good Winchesters. He won't be able to deliver a decent performance," bet Gwen. She knew that Cardin wasn't the one who accompanied her daughter, but she wasn't going to say it outright. She wanted the judges to see the true nature of the cursed Winchester family.

With their break now over, a little girl walked into the room. She had an astonishing amount of red on her. "Hello and what is your name?"

She answered proudly. "My name is Ruby Rose."

"Okay Ruby, show us what you've got." encouraged Gwen

Ruby sat down and prepared herself. "I'll show that Cardin. It's time to let my music do the talking." whispered Ruby to herself. She took a deep breathe in and then she started hammering down on the piano keys. Her piece was naturally energetic, fitting well with her bubbly personality. The score was being followed fairly well. All the judges could feel the beats pulsating throughout their bodies.

The audience felt the same. They could tell this performance was unlike those before her. This one was given by someone who worked hard and had actual talent. The audience was swept up by the flow of the music.

By the end of her song, the people were clapping loudly for her. The judges were also convinced that this was a high level performance. It was assured that she would move on to the next round.

Ruby had done an excellent job. Unfortunately, everyone was eagerly awaiting their genius star. They expected Cardin to perform much better than the one that Ruby had just given.

And so Ruby left the stage with a curtsey. In her place Cardin boldly walked in. The newscasters started to chat again. Cameras snapped away pictures of the confident boy. As he got to the microphone he gave a bow to the crowd.

"And what is your name?" asked one of the judges.

"Cardin Winchester," answered the boy proudly. The audience responded with obnoxious cheering and hollering. They were extremely excited for the performance.

A judge held up his hand and the audience died down. "You may begin."

Gwen watched the boy move towards the piano. "Let's see if you actually have any ability." whispered Gwen under her breath.

Cardin sat down to performed. The auditorium was silent in anticipation to the performance. Cardin began.

What they heard was not what they expected.

It was an average performance.

'Huh?' People couldn't believe their ears. The style, the complexity, the emotion, all of it was subpar, maybe even less than that. However, no one stirred in hopes that his playing would soon exceed Ruby's previous performance. Unknowing to the crowd, Cardin felt like he was playing the best he ever had. By the end, the audience found that the performance was nowhere close to what Ruby had shown the audience. With the mediocre playing, people were left somewhat disappointed.

Ruby and Gwen both smirked as Cardin failed to deliver. It was even more amusing how proud the boy looked as he stepped off stage.

"That was extremely underwhelming." commented one of the judges.

"I'm sure he was just feeling stage fright." defended another judge.

Backstage, Jaune waited as Cardin left the stage. It just so happened that Jaune would be playing last. Of course, everyone had thought that Cardin was the last contestant and already started to pack. With such a disappointing performance, all the media ran to get Cardin's thoughts. All except a struggling journalist Lisa Lavender.

"Lisa come on, if we don't hurry we won't get any good shots of Cardin." hurried Lisa's supervisor.

"Just give me a minute, I want to take a shot of the auditorium. I can see it. "Crowd follows shining star Cardin Winchester." mused Lisa.

"Okay, but try to be quick about it." Lisa's supervisor ran off with the mob of other media.

While Lisa took pictures, Jaune walked onto the stage. No one seemed to be left, except for the judges who were packing up their notes and Jaune's family. Lisa didn't even know Jaune was there until Jaune accidently bumped into the microphone.

"Sorry," quickly apologized Jaune.

"Oh, we still had someone left?" realized a judge. "Well, I guess we have time for one more contestant. What's your name?"

"Ja-I mean, J-Jennifer. Jennifer Arc," replied Jaune. When Gwen heard the last name she immediately perked up.

"Jennifer dear, does your mother happen to be named Johanna?" inquired Gwen.

"Y-yes, she's right there." Jaune pointed towards her mom in the near vacant auditorium. Gwen jerked her head to see a row of blonde heads sitting attentively. True to Jaune's words, the living legend was sitting amongst the group.

Lisa turned to see Johanna. She nearly dropped her camera in shock. Lisa Lavender was a hard core Johanna fan having bought all her albums and going to every concert. She even started her career in journalism as an attempt to meet her. However, Johanna ended her career and disappeared without a trace. This was even better than any story on Cardin.

"Okay Jennifer dear, show us what you've got." encouraged Gwen.

Jaune made his way to the piano. He sat down and placed his hands on the keys. He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. After calming his heart he gazed at the sheet music and started.

Lisa was focused on getting a perfect shot when the music reached her ears.

"Huh?"

Lisa blinked. Something was wrong. She didn't feel like she was in the auditorium anymore. It felt like...a forest? Lisa looked around and realized she was in beautiful forest. The breeze bent the branches in a hypnotizing dance. The quiet chirping of the bird filling the air.

When Lisa blinked again she was back in the music hall. She looked on stage and Jaune was standing up. Had the performance was already over? Lisa looked at the judges. They all had their mouths wide open.

Had they gone through the same experience that she had? It was beyond good, it was magical. This level of ability was what everyone was looking for. This little girl was the true piano genius. Better still, she was the daughter of Johanna Arc. This story could be a hot seller. Lisa quickly snapped a few pictures before June walked off stage.

The next day the decisions were made of who would make it on to the next round. It turned out that Cardin didn't make it through. All the news media exploded by the decision. Many news outlets were discussing the decision. However, in a local newspaper there was an article titled: "In the Shadow of a Falling Star, a True Genius?" With the disappointed news of Cardin's failure, the article got a lot of attention.

With all the news coverage the music hall was packed for the second round. For this round, Jaune once again in a dress and once again he blew everyone who was present away. In the end, Jaune was crowned the winner of this year's Dust-to-Dust competition. Jaune was recognized as Vale's best piano player.

Two years have passed since that Dust to Dust competition. In that time, Jaune, under his actual name thankfully, was now three time winner of the Dust to Dust. At 8 years old Jaune was getting ready for a family trip to the hospital. His mother had once again given birth.

Everyone had gathered in the family van and drove to visit their mother.

When they all got there, everyone crowded into the small room.

"Decided to visit," smiled their mother warmly.

"Yep," cheered Joan.

Johanna looked at the room with everyone stuffed inside. "I've been in this little hospital room so many times. it's hard to believe that it's been 16 years since I gave birth to June."

"Yeah," agreed the newly accepted Beacon Academy student.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering where's the baby. She's right over there." Johanna pointed towards a little bed next to Johanna.

The triplets ran to the edge to get a peek. With some help from their older siblings they got to see their new sister for the first time.

"It's another girl," sighed Jaune. He was hoping that he could have a brother, but he was fine with another sister.

"So what's her name?" blurted Joan.

"It's Jill." answered Johanna.

At this point June decided it was time to speak up. "Okay, but what is her actual name?"

All the other children looked at their older sister. "What?!"

"Well, I mean, June is only a nickname. It's short for Juniper." explained June. "I just assumed that everyone's name is a nickname."

Johanna groaned at June. "June, honestly why on earth would you think such a thing? I mean we come up with nicknames already, right?" Johanna watched as all her children looked intently at her.

"Is June telling the truth?" inquire Jaune.

"Well," hesitated Johanna.

"Tell us!" exclaimed the triplets.

"Fine, here we go." Johanna took a deep breathe. "Starting from the top, we have June which is short for Juniper; Julia is Julianna; Juliet is Juliette; Joan is Joanna; Jane is Janet; and this little one is Jillian."

"Hey, my name is the same." noticed Juliet.

"It sounds the same, but the spelling is different. It's spelled J-U-L-I-E-T-T-E," clarified the mother.

Jean looked at her mother confused. "Wait, what about my name? What's the long form of Jean?"

"There isn't one." confessed Johanna. "Your full name is Jean Heather Arc."

Jean lowered her head in disappointment. "Well then, I'll just get a nickname for myself then...Jay, yeah, that's a good nickname." From then on, Jean would go by Jay, forever reinforcing her tomboy persona.

"Well, what about Jaune?" put in Juliet. "Does he have a longer name?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't. Your father chose the name. It was something we agreed on. He got to name the boys and I got to name the girls."

"It seems like you got the better end of the deal." giggled June.

"You could say that, but it's difficult coming up with good names." confided Johanna.

Before the thought could slip away, Julia interjected. "Hold up, we have middle names too?! If you're going to tell us our full first names, might as well give us everything."

The other siblings noticed this fact too. The all turned back towards their mother. Especially Jaune and Jay, since they were left out on the full name bit.

"Ugh, sometimes your curiosity can be troublesome." complained Johanna. She turned to Jaune and Jay. "Don't worry you two, you both have middle names."

"Okay now tell us!" begged Joan.

Johanna took a deep breath in. "Okay, the full set starts with Juniper Delilah Arc, Julianna Elizabeth Arc, Juliette Antoinette Arc, Jaune Richard Arc, Joanna Jade Arc, Janet Olivia Arc, Jean Heather Arc, and Jillian Natalia Arc." Johanna said that mouthful in a single breath.

"Wow," murmured all the children.

"Okay, so now we have all your naming done, how about gifts?" All the children gave their mother a gift for Jill. The amounting pile of presents was so large they had to set them down on a coffee table.

When all the gifts were given, Jill woken up crying. "Oops, seems like now is a good time for all of you to go home."

With that, the Arc siblings went home. Their next adventure waiting to happen.

 **Wow, this chapter was really hard to write...Anyway, I've got two more chapters planned before I just time skip into a new arc. Thanks for reading. See you next time on And a Jaune, and a Two...**


	7. Arc Anniversary

**Hey everyone, it's been awhile, but I got another chapter! Enjoy~**

One year had past since Jill was born. Since then, each of the Arc siblings have gone through some substantial growth. At 17, June has just begun of her studies at Beacon Academy, yet she was already well known in culinary circles. The twins were both 14, so they were gearing up to graduate from Signal and enter into Beacon. In the meantime, Julia pulled off another fantastic line of spring wear, while Juliet was slowly becoming a well known novelist.

The triplets were steadily honing their crafts. Joan knew her way around a pair of scissors like the back of her hand and started on figuring out how to incorporate hair products to enhance the process. Jane studied up her massaging skills and was just about ready to tackle acupuncture. Jay was a little slower, since her mechanics hobby required her to be more mature, but she was proficient enough to help her father with menial tasks.

For Jaune, he continued his reign over all the piano competitions. He finally was given the mark of a music genius like he deserved.

Throughout the year Jaune continued to play weekly playdates with Ruby. It was almost shocking how much time they spent together. Fortunately, Ruby never learned the location of the Arc home. If a certain oldest sister found the little girl in the home, not even the great Oum could save her.

One wintry Saturday, Johanna went with Jaune into the city. The two of them were going to go sledding this playdate and Jaune excited to go. As they made their way into Qrow's music store Jaune caught a glimpse of Ruby and headed off on his own. Johanna headed inside the shop to get the warmth back in her body.

As she walked through the door she found a two girls with platinum hair at the counter. One was a little older than June while the other was around Jaune's age. From their outfits, anyone could tell they came from a wealthy family. "You insufferable old crow. I know you're there. Come out here and provide some decent service would you!?"

Qrow came out from the back room. "Yeah, yeah ice queen, I say you gaudy car from the front. Do you really need something that badly? You could have just asked nicely." smirked Qrow.

"Show my sister some respect!" demanded the smaller figure.

"Okay snow angel, I'll make an exception for Vale's rising star." Qrow patted the little girl's head carelessly. "Winter, what do you want?" question Qrow as he continued to pat Weiss on the head.

Winter grit her teeth. "First get your hand off my sister." Winter grasped Qrow's wrist and lifted it off of her sister's head.

"Woah, I didn't think you liked older men, ice queen. Who would have thought you were so bold." acted Qrow.

"You are a failure of an adult." stated Winter.

"And you're a failure at noticing your surroundings. Seriously, if you keep holding on to me, people are going to talk." joked Qrow.

Johanna, who was watching the exchange, decided to play along. From the small talk, Johanna had already guessed who these two girls were. "Winter, what are you doing?"

The two girls in front turned around to see the legendary singer. It just so happened that Winter was also a huge Johanna Arc fan. Winter immediately let go of Qrow's arm. "M-Mrs. Arc, I-I was um...this drunk started." accused Winter trying her best to look good in her idol's eyes.

"That's actually not true. You're the one who grabbed me first." corrected Qrow.

Winter blushed slightly as she was being toyed with in front of her favorite singer. Meanwhile, Weiss' mouth dropped wide open. "Y-you're Johanna Arc, right?"

"Ahh, you must be Gwen's younger daughter. June has said a lot about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." smiled the retired singer.

"N-no the pleasure's all mine," stampered Weiss.

"My, you remind me of when Winter first met me. Relax, I'm just another customer at this shop." calmed Johanna. "Our past is only a memory. It makes us who we are today, but it isn't our everything."

"You could say that again." cheered Qrow as he was living proof of her words.

"Um, ma'am." started Winter. "What could bring you to this run down establishment? Surely there are other places that you could buy music equipment."

Qrow took the liberty to answer. "She came here because there's nowhere else to buy music equipment. Just like how you two princesses showed up here."

Winter shot Qrow a death glare, but Qrow just shrugged it off.

"Umm ma'am, I know this is asking for a lot but..." Weiss gathered all her courage just to ask. "M-may I please hear you sing?" To this date, Weiss had listened to all the albums and watched through all the recordings of Johanna, but she never had the chance to hear her sing in person.

"Sure why not?" Though Johanna refused all the demands for her to get back on the stage, she would never deny any fans who asked her to sing a song.

"Oh no," cut in Qrow. "If you're going to sing, you're do it outside. I don't want newscasters showing up on my front door again." Qrow remembered the nightmare that occurred so many years ago. The image of the enormous crowd was burned into his brain.

"Oh, you're such a party pooper." clicked Johanna. "Fine, we'll just go outside."

Due to Winter still needing something from Qrow, only Johanna and Weiss went outside into the park near the store. In the park they stood by a picnic table that was amidst the grass and trees. Johanna sweep the snow off the bench as she sifted through songs to sing. Just then, an idea flashed in her mind and Johanna gave a wide smile.

"Ahh, that's right you're a singer too, aren't you?" Weiss jumped at the comment. "Y-yes, I am...But I'm nowhere near as good as you." Weiss lowered her head bashfully.

"Nonsense, I'm sure that you sing just as well as me," baited Johanna.

Weiss took the bait immediately. "Mrs. Arc, there is no way my voice could match your god given talent."

"Then why don't we have a little contest," suggested Johanna. "We'll both sing the same song, and we'll see who sung it better."

"No, I couldn't compete with someone like you." rejected Weiss. Having her idol do something like that was like her talking back to her father. It was unthinkable.

"Oh nonsense! It'll be fun. I'm sure you're going to like what you hear." insisted Johanna.

"I-If you say so." Weiss got on top of the picnic table, took in a deep breath and let the world fade away around her. Johanna could see the nervousness leaving the little girl. 'She really learned well from June,' thought Johanna. With her heart calm, Weiss began singing

Johanna's eyes widened when the notes came to her ears. 'This was the first song I sang on stage.' Johanna reminisced back to her first stage performance. Back then, she was extremely nervous and make a few mistakes as she sung. Of course, everyone was still captivated by her voice.

Johanna sighed as Weiss' singing brought her back to her early days. Those were the good days.

Weiss finished the song and Johanna clapped for her. Weiss took a few quick bows before getting off of the table. During her performance, passersby stopped to enjoy the music. By now, the duo had amassed a substantial crowd.

"See, you did wonderfully," pointed out Johanna. "Look at all the people who came to hear you sing!"

"T-thank you" Weiss lowered her head. Her face was flush from the compliment.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." Johanna decided to sit on the table and let herself get comfortable. "Okay, make sure you pay attention now."

Weiss stood in front of Johanna eagerly awaiting to hear her voice.

It came to her quietly.

It took a moment for Weiss to realize that Johanna had actually started singing. Weiss was shocked. The pitch was spot on and the notes came nonstop as if she never took a breath. Her voice was smooth and confident. Weiss couldn't help feeling as though the world was moving to the sound of Johanna's voice.

'This is the level of a legend.' Weiss was completely enveloped by the sound. Even after Johanna was finished, Weiss was caught in a daze as the sound still filled her mind. After waking from her stupor, Weiss realized the distance between herself and her idol.

"T-Thank you!" Weiss bowed her head. "I learned a lot from that."

"It was nothing," shrugged Johanna. "The most important thing about music, is to have fun with it and to sing from the heart."

"Yes, I understand." Weiss bowed in respect. "I keep these words in mind."

Johanna nodded when Winter came to get Weiss. To Johanna's amusement, Winter was standing rather close to Qrow who was carrying a bag labeled "Arc". 'Those two look like a married couple,' thought Johanna to herself.

As she looked at the possible lovebirds, she thought about her own husband. 'It's almost time for our anniversary isn't it...' As she was lost in thought, Jaune came back from sledding with Ruby.

The mother son pair went home. At home, June has set aside two warm mugs full of hot chocolate. Jaune drank it eagerly. Johanna took sips from the cup and looked at the calendar. 'Yep, our anniversary is coming up soon. Though he never does much, he always manages to surprise me.' Johanna recalled all the clever little things her husband did over the years. 'I'll just have to wait and see what he has planned this year.'

A few days later, when Johanna was out of the house for some shopping. Julia and Juliet were teaching Joan and Jane when their father popped his head into their room. "Hey, do you girls have a minute?"

"Sure dad, do you need something?" asked Juliet.

"Yeah," replied John.

Julia jerked her head up. "Am I finally getting a pair of contacts!?"

"No, we need to have a family meeting." John quickly left and went to get Jaune and June.

Everyone quickly gathered in the piano room. "So what's going on? Why isn't mom here?" Jaune watched his dad.

"I need to keep this a secret from your mother," asked John. "Well, at least for now."

"Ohoho, dad you are such a player," teased Juliet. "How could you do that to mom?!"

"Jewel it isn't like that," cleared John, but then realizing that his daughter was assuming he was having an affair. "And how in the world do you know about those kinds of things?"

"Umm, well...I read a lot." Juliet turned away, realizing she had said too much.

"So are you planning something for her?" guessed Jaune.

"Yes, you see, in a month or so, it is going to be your mother's and my twenty fifth anniversary." John scratched his head as he went on. "I was planning on doing something special and I wanted to have a little privacy with your mother."

"Are we getting another new family member?" asked Julia. "I mean we already have eight of us. Are you trying to round up to ten?!"

John shook his head hurriedly. "No no, we just wanted to spend time together. Your mother and I aren't planning on having another baby."

"So you basically want us to go somewhere while you and mom enjoy yourselves," summarized June.

"Precisely," approved John.

"But I wanna do something special for mommy!" exclaimed Joan.

"Me too," agreed Jane.

"Me three," cheered Jay.

John nodded at the triplets. "Well..."

"Pleeeeeease" The triplets crowded around their father with their pouty faces and puppy dog eyes. Joan even started to whimper slightly. In defense, John tried to look away and fight the cuteness, but the triple attack was more than he could handle.

"I mean...Well...You know that..." John's resolved crumbled. "Okay, you can help,"

"Hurray, we get to do something special for mommy!" cheered the triplets in unison

John pondered for a moment of when the children could help in his plans. "Okay, I guess you can help out in the morning."

And so, with the meeting over, the month went by. Everything seemed to be normal in the Arc home, except for the increase in frequency of Johanna leaving the home by herself.

It was the day of the Arc parent's anniversary. The sun shined through the window of the Arc's master bedroom. Johanna squinted her eyes as she groped the empty spot next to her. It was at this moment when she noticed that John wasn't next to her. As she slowly opens her eyes, she gets caught off guard by a stream of music.

"Oh my." Johanna felt energy rushing through her body. She tried to pick up the instruments that were being played. It was obvious that there were different sounds melding together. Guitar, trumpet, clarinet, piano, saxophone, violin, and drums were working together to make a great sound.

"Oh, this is..." Johanna finally realized the identity of the song. It was the first song that John had played to woo Johanna, back before they were together. He had played the song on guitar as he was asking Johanna to be his date for one of Beacon Academy's school dances.

As the music died down, there was a knock on the door. "Sorry for the sudden wake up call, but there is something I'd like to say to you Ms. Johanna Romee!" John called out in an exceedingly gallant manner.

Johanna snickered to herself. Her husband was repeating the exact thing he had done 25 years ago. She decided to play along. "Oh my John, what on earth could you have to say so early in the morning?"

John smiled from the other side of the door. "Allow my intrusion, and you'll find out."

"Alright, you may enter." On cue, the door opened once again. John strolled in with a guitar in his hands. He strummed the strings and played the chords. After him, came all of their children.

"You'll have to forgive me," apologized John as he continued to play. "I asked for some assistance to make today extra special." The Arc siblings came up to their mother one at a time as John provided pleasant background music with his guitar.

June walked up to her mother with a tray of pancakes and eggs with a side of orange juice in front of her mother. "Here is your breakfast in bed, made courtesy by your sweet husband."

"It looks wonderful," commented Johanna. June set the tray down on the bed and stepped out of the room so the other siblings could come in.

And so, the other children came and went. Julia came with an embroidered handkerchief, Juliet had recited a passionate poem, and the triplets worked together to color a very nice picture of the family.

Just as Johanna thought everyone was finished. The last of the Arc siblings crawled on the bed. "Ma!" Jill called out in excitement.

"Yes Jill, what is it?" Johanna curiously asked her baby daughter.

"Da, pffff" Jill blew a raspberry as she haphazardly gave her mother a rose. The rose was plastic, so it would endure the dangers of traveling with Jill.

"Oh, is this from your daddy?" asked Johanna.

"Da!" exclaimed Jill.

"Aw, thank you Jill. It's beautiful." Johanna patted Jill on the head before Jaune scooped her up and walked out of the room. By this time John finished up the song and set the guitar down. "Well, what did you think?"

"It was wonderful," smiled Johanna.

"Good, because it doesn't end here." Johanna raised an eyebrow at the remark. John turned towards the door and called out. "June, is everything ready?"

June appeared in front of the door. "Yes sir, everything has been prepared," saluted June.

John nodded. "Initiate operation Let-Mommy-And-Daddy-Have-A-Day-Of-Alone-Time."

"Roger," June waved the family car's keys and said. "We'll be back first thing tomorrow. Have a nice day." After her send off, the sound of car doors slamming echoed into the room. Looking out the window, Johanna could see the car moving down the road and off into the snowy horizon.

Johanna gave John a questioning look. "Where on earth are they going?"

"I thought they might enjoy a little skiing trip." smiled John. "This way we can enjoy ourselves."

"Oh? And what does the legendary traveler have in store for me today? Are you planning to whisk me away to some far off kingdom?"

John gave a hearty laugh and shook his head. "No, nothing fancy like that."

"Then what did you have in mind?" Johanna began thinking about going out to hiking into unknown forests or climbing snowcapped mountains.

"Nothing much," harmlessly answered John. "I was thinking along the lines of sleeping in, then having a relax picnic lunch in the park which is followed a casual stroll around town."

A glint of light flashed in Johanna's eyes. "John Arc, are you asking me out on a date?"

John smiled as he bowed before Johanna. He acted like a kind gentleman. "Why, yes madam, would you like to come with me to a day filled with relaxation?"

"I would love to." Johanna offered the spot next to her on the bed. When the two got cozy, Johanna snuggled towards her husband as they slept in for a few more hours.

"I hope the kids are alright," worried Johanna, but John calmly soothed those worries. "They'll be fine, I promise."

 **Yay, I finally finished this chapter! Thank you for taking the time and reading. Stay tuned for some Arc sibling skiing adventures, next time on And a Jaune, and a Two!**


	8. Siblings Stay Together

"Come on everyone, hurry up!" called June. "Mom is going to wake up any minute now!"

"Sorry, I just need to finish this chapter." Juliet frantically smashed her laptop as cursor ran down the screen spewing sentences.

"Jewel, what is taking so long?" pressed June. "I thought you dropped the online stuff?"

"I did, but then something came up!" With her busy schedule, Juliet had left her days of writing on the internet behind her. Although she left her work unfinished, she thought no one would mind and that it would be forgotten in time. It was seemingly discarded forever.

However, one day a little snappy dragon encouraged her into finishing her story. Her heart was moved and the idea began to float in her mind. Of course, days continue to pass by with the story still going untouched. It wasn't until one day, as if the Great Oum commanded it so, that the inspiration came for the story to be finished.

After a few quick movements, she submitted the writing and grabbed her clarinet. "Alrighty, I'm done."

All of the kids were waiting outside with their instruments. Their father John had just finished making breakfast and handed the platter to June. "Is everyone ready?"

"Pfft, almost dad," giggled Julia. "Everyone except you!"

John gave his daughter a confused look. He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his pink apron with an adorable teddy bear on the front. Quickly taking it off, he coughed. "Ahem, with that out of the way, is everyone ready?"

Everyone gave him a nod as they raised their instruments. John lifted his guitar. "Good, now on my mark. And a one and a two..."

-

Everyone shuffled into the car. June got in the driver's seat and turned around. "Okay, is everyone seat belted?"

She was answered with the satisfying sound of multiple clicks. "Okay, let's go!"

June drove the van towards their destination with Juliet as the navigator. Jaune and Julia were sitting in the middle with Jill in a baby basket between them. The triplets were situated in the back enjoying the ride.

After an hour or so, the triplets began their song of torture. "We're going on a trip~ we're going on a trip~" chanted the triplets. The constant droning of the melody slowly whittled away at everyone else's nerve, until June couldn't keep her focus any longer.

"Girls, could you keep it down? I need to hear Jewel telling me directions." scolded June. Even though June had plenty of experience driving, she found it difficult to focus with the constant racket.

"June, make a right up here!" exclaimed Juliet.

"Wah! Got it!" June quickly swerved the van into the exit. The tires screeched from the move and people honked behind her. "I'm sorry," cried June, even though the other drivers couldn't hear her.

"Geez sis, you almost got us into a crash." yelled Julia holding Jill's basket protectively.

"Boo, pfft" gargled Jill as she pointed towards the hills.

Julia followed the baby's fingers and replied to Jill. "Yep Jill, we're almost there," Julia looked at the people already carving down the hills with envy. "I can't believe I have to spend the morning of this trip watching Jill."

"Well, you did pick the smallest straw." reminded Juliet. "That's how the cookie crumbles."

"There are cookies!?" gasped Joan. "Where? Why didn't I get any?!"

The older Arc siblings laughed and tried to explain to their younger sister what an idiom was. After a lengthy discussion about nonexistent cookies, they finally reached their destination.

It was the Schnee Luxury Winter Resort, owned by the Schnee family. John had arranged for the siblings to enjoy a trip to this expensive resort. Because of the price, there weren't many resort goers, which allowed for a peaceful experience for the few that could afford it.

This resort included the wide comforting cabin at the front that included a variety of indoor activities. Behind this building were specific areas for tubers, skiers, snowboards, and so on. Each area had a series of smaller hills for children and beginners as well as colossal mound for the more advanced or thrill seeking. For this trip, the Arc siblings would remain in the sledding area.

-

As they got out of the van, June called for a final check on everyone's equipment. "Okay, does everyone have their snow gear on?" June swept her gaze across her siblings.

"Yes!" everyone else chimed in.

"Hats?"

"Yep!"

"Gloves?"

"Got them!"

"Jackets?"

"Check!"

"Goggles?"

"Oh no! I forgot my goggles." cried out Jane.

"Don't worry, I brought an extra pair." Jean passed Jane the extra goggles.

"Thanks sis,"

Once June was sure everyone had everything prepared, she laid out the agenda for the day. "Okay, so here is how it's going to break down," started June. "Julia will be watching Jill at the lodge while Jewel will look after the triplets on the beginner hills."

"BUT WE WANT TO GO ON THE BIG HILL!" cried out the triplets in unison.

Before June could counter, Juliet tried to persuade June. "Oh come on, it's not like it's a 90 degree drop. Everyone there is just sledding or tubing. If anything goes wrong, we'll be closer to the lodge anyway. There isn't much to worry about. What's the worst that could happen?"

"All of them could get into a crash and have to go to the hospital," answered June immediately. Just as June was about to speak further, the triplets initiated their puppy dog eyes. June turned away. "No, it's better if you stay on the smaller hills!"

The triplets ran towards Juliet and hugged her. "Please, just this once. We won't ask for anything else." pleaded Joan. June caved under a sense of guilt. "Okay then,"

"YEAH!" cheered the triplets.

"But!" interjected June. "We'll all be going together, alright?"

"Okay" accepted the triplets.

"Good, now Jaune, you'll be coming with us, right?"

"Actually, I was thinking that I could stay back with Julie this time." decided Jaune.

"Oh, there's my little bro." Julia wrapped an arm around Jaune and ruffled through his hair.

June gave a nod of approval. "Let's go with that then. We'll meet back at the lodge for lunch."

-

Out of every Arc sibling, the most level headed was obviously June. A close second would be Juliet. Both girls thought things through and were usually prepared for any mishaps that could occur. Now was not a time like that, as both of these sisters truly underestimated the situation at hand.

"Yay, faster, Faster, FASTER!" The wind whipped as the Joan's zoomed down the large hill.

"Ahh Joan, be careful!" Juliet cried after them. Everything seems ordinary when they had gotten to the top of the hill. Just as they were about to begin, Joan jumped head first on her sled and was off. Seeing her runaway sister, Juliet left the other two triplets with June before pouncing in pursuit.

"You need to slow down!" warned Juliet as she inched towards the speeding sled.

Being a young six year old, Joan only felt a rush as she zoomed down the hill. Sadly, when she got a fourth of the way down, her excitement vanished.

'Uh oh'

The sled continued to go faster and faster. The trees at her sides began to blur.

"Okay, that's enough now." Joan started to get pale. Her body got tense. The sled continued to increase in speed.

"June! Juliet! Help, I can't slow down!" The young blonde cried in fear.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Juliet rushed near Joan, but before she could do anything they had already reached the bottom.

"Ahh" Joan barreled her way past dozens of people until she crashed into a snowbank and ate a mouthful of snow.

"Uof"

"Joan!" Juliet came to a stop and helped her sister out of the snow. Luckily, there weren't any signs of major injuries.

"Juliet." Tears started rolling down as Joan hugged Juliet. "It's alright now. Come on look we're stopped." Juliet rubbed her back to she consoled.

"Are you two alright?" June and the other two triplets slowed to a stop and approached them.

"We're not hurt, but I think Joan's had enough of the big hill." Joan only nodded in agreement from Juliet's embrace.

"What do we do now?" asked Jane.

"Probably not go down this big hill again." decided Juliet.

Joan murmured. "I want to go inside."

"Joan are you sure you want to go back inside?" checked June. "I don't think we'll have as much fun if you aren't there."

Joan shook her head and whispered. "I just want to go inside."

"I guess she's had enough for today." Juliet looked at the Jane and Jay. "Are you two coming too?"

The pair looked at each other, then at the snowy hills, and finally on their crying sister before Jane responded. "We'll go inside too."

And so the five siblings ended the morning outside.

-

Back at the lodge Julia, Jaune, and Jill had been idling by the fireplace. Julia gazed longingly out the window as people shouted in excitement. "Ugh, this is sooooo boring," groaned Julia. "I want to go out into snow and play."

"Oh come on sis, I mean, you get to watch Jill." commented Jaune as he was watching as Jill was waving some toy keys around.

"I guess you're right," Julia smiled at her adorable baby sister when her gaze caught something else. It was a large stand up piano. The wooden body blended well with the wall, making it hard to notice at a glance. "OH look a piano! Say, why don't you play us something?"

"Doesn't it say 'do not touch' right there?" Jaune pointed towards the very obvious sign resting on the piano.

"Come on, it's just sitting there waiting to be played by someone." Julia hopped up and went to the nearest staff member. "Hey, can my lil' bro play on your piano?"

"What? That old thing? Go right ahead. Although, if it gets loud or obnoxious, I'm going to have to ask you to stop." allowed the person.

"Don't worry, you have my word that it won't sound terrible." promised Julia.

"I'll hold you to it." noted the staff member.

Julia came back with a smile on her face. "We got the okay, so now let's hear some music."

"Do you have anything specific?"

"Yeah, give me something energetic!" Jaune looked baffled at the vague request. What kind of energetic did she want? Maybe something fiery to match the room, or maybe something crisp to reflect outside.

Julia noticed her brother going deep into thought. "Ahh, you can just make something up." waved Julia. "Don't think too hard; just let it flow out of you."

Jaune looked over towards Julia who simply gave a big thumb up. Jaune exhaled and found his focus.

Just then, the front door opened and five familiar faces appeared.

"Jewel? June? Why are you all here so early? What happened?" questioned Julia.

"Joan here jumped the gun and tried sledding by herself. She went too fast and crashed into the snow, so she's done for the morning." Juliet gestured to how Joan was tight in her embrace.

"That must have been rough." pitied Julia. "So what's the plan now?"

"I think it is best we just stay inside until after lunch. Hopefully, Joan will feel more up to it later." offered Juliet.

"Agreed. I'll go get hot chocolate for everyone." June stood up and went off.

With June off on her own, a serious matter was about to occur.

-

"Wahh!"

"What's wrong Hannah?" The two Arc parents were relaxing in bed when Johanna suddenly jumped.

"I sense something," frowned the mother.

John looked at his wife strangely. "What was it?"

"I think someone is hitting on one of our daughters." growled Johanna.

"And?"

"I don't like it."

"Hannah"

"I'm serious John, I just can't help it. The thought of someone trying to steal my daughter makes me just want to go over there and-"

"Easy Hannah," comforted John. "I'm sure everything is fine. Just relax. I'm sure everything is just fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," reassured John. "Now let's get back to relaxing, otherwise I'll feel like all my effort was wasted."

"Oh dear, nothing you do goes to waste."

"Oh, you're making me blush."

-

"Excuse me fair maiden, but I could not help notice that your sister seems rather upset."

"Umm, yeah. She got into a little accident."

"I hope that you would indulge me and allow me to comfort her for you."

"Thanks, but I don't think that's necessary err..." Juliet stopped when she realized she wasn't sure how to address the person. It was obviously a boy perhaps around June's age. His build was lean, but not muscular. He had deep crystal blue eyes and pearly white teeth and sported a styled blonde set of hair.

"Oh my, where are my manners! My name is Jason Arkam. May I be so obliged to know this fair maiden's name?"

"Juliet, Juliet Arc."

"Such a lovely name, for such a lovely lady! Yes, again I request you allow me to comfort your sister."

"Again, that's not necessary."

"But I must! It would be so dreadful if you had to waste such a beautiful day inside attending to the needs of your sibling."

Juliet frowned at the thought of taking care of her sister being a waste of time. But before she could say anything, Jason had already moved towards the piano.

"Rightly so, move along small child." Jason shooed Jaune away saying. "I'll show you something unlike anything you have ever heard before!"

Jaune frowned at being called small, but was courteous enough to move aside.

After testing the sound of the piano, Jason turned his head towards Juliet and gave a smile. "Do take a moment and listen to my performance."

And so, Jason began playing. The notes were mighty and firm. Anyone could hear a majestic tone to his music. He gave off a feeling that matched his high pedigree.

"That guy is weird." commented Jane.

"Yeah, he keeps looking over towards Jewel." observed Jay.

"Hey everyone, what seems to be going on?" June had come back with two trays that contained hot chocolate.

"Nothing much, just some weirdo trying to impress Juliet." summarized Julia.

"Oh really?" June was clearly not happy as her hands were shaking slightly with rage.

"Ah, careful June! The hot chocolate might spill." exclaimed Julia as she quickly distributed out the warm drinks.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested." grumbled Juliet. By now Joan had stopped clinging to her and was sipping the hot chocolate.

As a writer and avid reader, Juliet was well aware of romantic cues. More importantly, she knew what her ideal type was. As for what that was, no one knows.

"Still, for some monkey to try and flirt with my sister is unacceptable." huffed June.

"Miss, I must humbly request you retract your words about the Young Master."

"Gah! Who are you!?" shouted Julia surprised.

The Arc siblings turned to see an ashy gray haired middle aged man standing beside June and Juliet. He wore white gloves and a slim black suit, giving off a noble air.

"I can be considered the caretaker of Young Master Jason. You may refer to me as James." introduced the butler as he gave a bow.

"That's nice James, but did you have to scare us!?" complained Julia.

"Forgive me for surprising you. It was not my intention." The butler bowed again, and then he turned his gaze towards June. "Again, young miss I ask that you would not insult my Young Master."

"Okay, I apologize for calling him a monkey." Jun, who is usually sincere, replied halfheartedly.

"Thank you for your considerations." James then turned towards Juliet. "Ms. Juliet, I ask that you forgive the young master. Although he was rather forward with you, he does have a good heart," apologized James.

"Sure, but I want to be clear that I don't like him." stated Juliet.

"May I ask for the reason?" inquired James.

"Simple, he's not my type." answered Juliet.

"Understood." From that moment on James the butler stood silent.

Everyone turned their attention back to Jason. To be honest, the siblings acknowledged how talented he was, but it lacked the beauty of Jaune's playing.

To the siblings, Jason was very rigid and proper. Everything seemed controlled and sharp. The music was probably being followed to the letter. Had this been during a competition, he was sure to win.

In contrast, Jaune had a more natural feeling. The music ebbed and flowed as well as rushed and danced. It drew the person in and made them want to drown in the sound of his music.

To summarize, Jason was playing at least a notch below what Jaune could do.

With the song ended Jason stood and turned towards Juliet. "Has my music reached your ears, my dear?"

Juliet frowned. "What?" This boy in front of her seemed to completely forget his initial purpose. It seemed he only came with impure intentions.

"Juliet, have my feelings reached you?" Jason steps in close to hold Juliet's hands, to which she responded by retreats close to her sisters and brother. "I think you're jumping the gun here."

Jason tilted his head unable to understand the idiom. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that I'm not interest," huffed Juliet. "Sure the music was nice, but I don't like you."

Jason was shocked. For once in his life, a lady was not entranced by his performance and practically falling into his arms. This young lady who had caught his eye had actually refused him. However, a man of his standings must be quick to control his outward emotions.

"Alright," Jason lifted his head high. "A gentleman respects the wishes of his lady. I will be off now. Come James, it appears our presence has been a nuisance. Farewell my dearest Juliet." With a bow he slowly walked away.

"That guy was strange." noted Joan.

"You can say that again." agreed Julia.

"He plays piano alright." commented Jaune.

"Yeah, but you're better Jaune." decided Jay.

"Alright then," June clapped to get everyone's attention. "I think now is a good time to see what we can do inside. Jaune, girls, what do you think?"

"Yay!" cried the triplets in unison.

"Da!" cried Jill.

"Okay, then let's go. Everybody can come." So the Arc siblings set off to see what was in store for them.

-

As the siblings were discussing their plans, two men were walking away from them having an eerie conversation.

"James."

"Yes Young Master."

"Find out everything you can about Juliet Arc."

"Understood."

"And James,"

"Yes"

"Remember to be as covert as possible."

"Of course."

The younger man took one last glance at his goddess before giving a devilish smile.

"Just you wait, my dear. One day, you will become mine."

-

The siblings explored the resort to their heart's content. They were currently in a hallway with large glass windows. Outside they could see massive and detailed ice and snow sculptures. They marveled at how large and intricate each piece was.

The best part of the experience for them was not the sculptures but the hallway itself. There was a moving sidewalk installed to one of the sides of the hallway which allowed them to look at the vast array of ice figures without using too much effort.

At some point during their viewing, a stomach growled.

"I guess we should go get something to eat." giggled Julia.

"Yay! Lunch time!" cheered Joan, who was back to her cheerful self.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go over there." June pointed to the nearby dining area.

As they approached, Juliet suddenly stiffened before blurting out. "Let's go somewhere else."

Jaune gave a confused look towards his sister. "Why?"

"It's the weirdo again!" yelled Jane. Sure enough, in the corner by the window, Jason gracefully dining on a steak. James stood to his side with a napkin in hand.

"Shh, not so loudly." hushed Juliet covering Jane's mouth before she spoke again. Fortunately, Jason wasn't looking in their direction and was too far to hear Jane's outburst.

"I guess we should head somewhere else." Julia scanned the surrounding area to find a good place.

"I think I found somewhere good." reported Jaune.

"Have you, Jaune? Let's see..." June followed Jaune's finger, then her eyes widened.

"June?"

"Oh, what?" June quickly gathered her senses.

"What is it?" asked Julia.

"Oh nothing, I was just surprised to see a familiar face." waved off June.

"Oh, is it your boyfriend?" teased Julia.

"No, he's just a friend." clarified June.

"Oh, maybe he can give us some free food. Let's go!" Julia scooped up Jay and Jane and swiftly made their way towards the other dining area.

-

Back at the Arc family home, the two parents were about to enjoy a delicious lunch. Suddenly, right before Johanna could eat a spoonful, she froze. Her spoon dropped onto the plate.

Concerned for his wife, John called out. "Hannah"

"..."

"Earth to Hannah" John waved his hand in front of his beloved, but there was still no movement. When suddenly...

"Gaahhhhh"

Johanna slammed her hands on the table and stood up, almost knocking over the meal. There was a glint in her eye that seemed like she was ready to kill.

"Hannah!" cried out her husband in fear.

"Again!" growled Johanna.

"Huh?"

Johanna looked to her husband. "Another one, another brat is hitting on one of my sweet little babies!"

John sighed as he stood up and held Johanna's hands. "Alright, take it easy. Come on, deep breathes."

"This is the second time in a single day! I think we should go over there and check up on them. While we're at it, I'll beat those-"

"Shh, take it easy" John wrapped his arms around his wife. "Come on, everything is going to be alright. We have good girls. They aren't going to be whisked away without our permission."

After a few more minutes of breathing and reassuring from John, Johanna had finally cooled down.

"Okay, I suppose everything is alright."

"Good, now let's get back to eating before the food cold." John took his spoon and ate some food off of Johanna's plate. "Yummy,"

"Two can play at that game." Johanna playfully went after John's meal. And so, the two happily ate their lunch.

-

Back over to the children's side.

"June, what a surprise!"

"Remy it's been too long!"

The Arc siblings watched as their eldest sister hugged some boy that they had never met. The boy was dark haired youth around their sister's age. He was lean and a head taller than June. His hands seemed practiced and his eyes bright.

June realized the cold stares she was receiving at introduced the boy. "Girls and Jaune, this is Remy. He's one of my classmates at Beacon."

"Hmm, so he's the type of person you're interested in." analyzed Julia.

"Oh course not," retorted June. "Sorry Remy, I forgot to introduce them. These two are Juliet and Julia. This is Jaune. The triplets are Joan, Jane, and Jean. Lastly, the baby is Jill."

"That's an impressive family you've got!" exclaimed Remy. "Let me introduce myself. The name's Jeremy Chappelle, but you can just call me Remy."

"Okay Remy, what's your relationship with our big sister?" interrogated Joan. She was unhappy with some weirdo going after Juliet, and now another guy had showed up and hugged June.

"Umm that...don't worry about." dismissed Remy.

"Sure..." Juliet narrowed her eyes.

Remy ignored the gaze. "Anyway, you're just in time for lunch. I'll whip up something quick for you guys to eat, just sit here and make yourselves comfortable."

"What about the price?" worried June.

"Don't mention it, this one's on me." Remy gave one last smile before rushed back behind the counter and got to work. In the meantime, the Arc siblings moved two tables together so they could all at one area.

"He seems pretty nice." said Julia.

"Sure, but that might just be a facade." warned Juliet. "For all we know, he's a part of some criminal organization that goes around kidna-"

"Jewel stop, there are children present." interjected June. "I can say for sure that he's a good guy."

"Oh? And where did you two meet?" questioned Juliet.

"We met each other in the same cooking class at school. We were partners through this past semester."

"Hoho, it seems like the beginning of one of Juliet's novels." commented Julia.

"Besides sitting near each other during lunch and sharing most of the same classes there's nothing else going on." cleared June. "We're just friends, there's nothing more to it."

"For now." mumbled Juliet. "In two or three years, you'll probably introduce him to Mom and Dad."

"You're right!" exclaimed Julia. "He's basically June's boyfriend that Mom doesn't know about." A devilish smile appeared on Julia's face. "I can't imagine how she would react if she got word of this."

"Julie, you wouldn't dare!" June shouted in fright. Although there were no romantic feelings between the pair, June didn't want such a misunderstanding told to their mother.

"Oh, of course I dare! How else will I get you to do something for us!" cheered Julia.

"What do I need to do?" grumbled June as she rolled her eyes, having expected something like this from Julia.

"Easy, you make us curry for dinner tomorrow!"

All the Arc siblings jumped.

Curry.

This was a dish that was simple to make and easy to eat. June had made curry for everyone before. However, curry was a rather touchy meal for everyone. It was a meal that all the siblings could seemingly eat bowl after bowl without ever getting tired of it, especially the triplets.

It had gotten to the point that Johanna began to worry about health and finances. To avoid possible problems, June had limited curry to twice a month, except for special occasions and birthdays, to avoid an excessive grocery bill and unbalanced diet. Of course, if the siblings we willing, they could sacrifice their allowance to get the ingredients.

"Julie, that's..."

"Curry!" shouted the triplets together. "Come on June, think about the curry!" egged Jane.

"I should have known it was this." June shook her head knowing that her allowance was going down the drain. "Sure, it'll be curry tomorrow."

"Yipee!"

"Hurray for curry!" The triplets jumped up and down while the twins gave each other a high-five.

"Did someone say curry?" laughed Remy as he carried four trays on his arms. "I've got some curry right here. Eat up!"

"What is this?" asked Jaune.

"Curry," declared Remy.

"What?" Jaune eyed the dish in front of him. "This doesn't look like curry?"

"Yeah, where's the bread? Why is there rice?" added Jane.

The meal in front of them was not the same curry that June always made. It was put on a plate with rice.

"I'm guessing you're more familiar with soup-like curry. This is a thicker variety of curry." educated Remy. "It might not taste the same, but it tastes just as good."

"I don't want to eat this curry." grumbled Joan. She scooped up some curry and watched it fall off her spoon.

"Oh come on, give it a try. I'm sure you'll love it." assured Remy.

"Woah,"

"This is good!"

The triplets watched their older twin sisters digging into the meal with gusto. Seeing their older sisters enjoying, the others began to take a small spoonful. Before they knew it, they had almost inhaling curry.

"I'm glad you like it!" cheered Remy. "Let me know if you need seconds."

"I think you might need some soon." mused June.

"I'll get right on it." laughed Remy before leaving.

The Arc siblings ate happily before being stopped by June after their third plate. Feeling bad, June paid for the food that they ate, obviously while getting Remy's employee discount. After they cleaned up the area and said their goodbyes to Remy, they started to head off for the afternoon.

-

It was the afternoon and now it was June's turn to stay back and watch Jill. To her surprise Remy had come to chat.

After the morning's experience, the rest of the siblings kept towards the smaller hills. Right now, Joan was standing at the top. "I'm not so sure about this."

"Oh come on Joan, it's just an itty bitty hill. Look Jane and Jay are having a great time." coaxed Julia.

"Will you go down with me," begged Joan.

"Of course silly. Come on, sit down." Julia sat down on a sled and helped Joan into her lap.

"Alrighty here we goooooo." The pair rushed down the hill. Joan had her eyes closed the entire time, but could feel the rush of speed.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I-It wasn't too bad." confessed Joan.

"Do you want to go again?"

"Okay."

Of course, as time went on, slowly but surely Joan recovered her energy.

"Weeeeeeee! You can't catch me Julie."

"We'll see about that!"

"No you can-Uof" As before, Joan rushed into a snowbank.

"Ah! Joan, are you alright?" cried out Julia.

Joan managed to get herself out of the snow. "That. Was. AWESOME! Let's go again!"

"That's the Joan we all know and love."

"Come on Julie, hurry up."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

-

With the day coming to an end the siblings went back inside. "Time to head back?" June asked.

"Yeah, I think it's about time we head home for the day." Juliet looked at how exhausted everyone else looked.

"No," cried Jay weakly.

"We can still keep playing," yawned Jane. She rubbed her droopy eyes as she unconsciously climbed into Juliet's arms.

"I think we should get them home." agreed Julia who was already carrying Joan fast asleep.

"Okay, let's go."

The Arc siblings packed up their things into the van. June carefully drove her sisters and brother. By the time they got home, everyone was already asleep, besides June of course. John and Johanna helped get everyone tucked in for the night.

"Did everyone have a good time?" asked John.

"Yep, everyone had fun." answered June.

"Did you meet any boys there?!" hurried Johanna. "What are their names?"

""Well..." June hesitated to respond.

"So there were boys! I knew it." roared Johanna.

"Easy Hannah, why don't we sit down and discuss this." chimed in John.

After a brief discussion, June was allowed to leave. Based on her description there was nothing serious to address.

"John was I too worried today?" reflected Johanna.

"No sweetie, you were fine. I'd be upset if they had actually done anything wrong, but it's just friends and what not." pressed John.

"We really do have wonderful children." stated Johanna satisfied.

"We sure do." agreed John. "Why don't we get to bed ourselves?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

And so, night came and happy dreams filled the mind of everyone in the Arc family, until the next story unfolds.

 **Let's take a pause here. I have plenty planned, but who know when I'll do things. Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it.**


	9. Far off Family

In a far off place there stood a lonesome mansion. For many years, this family mansion has stood proud and strong. Generation after generation, the family stayed within these halls. This was the home of the Arkam family.

In one of the many rooms of this mansion was Jason Arkam. As usual, for this time of day, he was currently practicing on the family's grand piano. The notes were spot on, without any mistake at all. However, that was as good as it got.

"No, no, no, you're playing it all wrong!" An old man shouted out. "You need to feel the music! Grasp the music with your heart, not your head! This isn't nearly enough to be a world-class pianist!"

Jason stopped playing. "Grandfather, I don't understand. I'm playing the music exactly as it's written on the sheet music. What more could there be?"

This old man that was yelling at Jason was none other than his grandfather, the current head of the Arkam family. His blonde hair had grayed out years ago. His brows were constantly knit together and his mouth seemed to have forgotten how to smile.

"Bah, to think that you are my grandson. You haven't even begun understanding the true depth of music! You spend all your time playing around and flirting with any girl you see."

"Grandfather..."

"Don't even bother calling me that! Some grandson you turned out to be. You really are your father's son. How else would I be so disappointed?"

"Master..."

"Oh James, do you have something to say?" roared the old man.

"No, Master." apologized James.

"I'm sure you're questioning my teaching methods." Jason's grandfather huffed. "If you think you can do a better job, by all means, go ahead. Remember to meet me in my study when you're done!" With that, he stormed the room.

After his grandfather left, Jason continued to practice playing. An hour passed by with each run through just as perfect as the last. Over and over, the same rhythms and beats churned out of the piano as if it was a recording on repeat. By the end of it, Jason looked towards his butler. "James, what do you think I'm doing wrong?"

James, who had stood silently for the past hour, finally spoke full of praise. "You haven't done anything wrong. You've played marvelously, perhaps even perfectly!"

"Yes, but what does grandfather mean?" asked Jason.

"Your grandfather simply wants you to play with your heart," began James. "Right now, you are simply playing for the sake of playing. Every note is pristine and follows the sheet music to the point. This is indeed the mark of a good pianist. However, you are an Arkam, meaning that being good is not good enough. You must transcend the music before you. Cast aside the sheet music and make the music your own!"

Jason was taken aback. "What? I'm supposed to deviate from the sheet music? Doing that would just make it sound all wrong!"

James nodded. "Indeed, if you try things wantonly, you can only meet with disaster. However, if you put in the time, understand yourself and the music, you can produce something out of this world." James sat down in front of the piano. "Allow me to give you a demonstration.

Just like that, James began to play. Jason closed his eyes and listened. It was completely wrong! The notes were the same, but everything else was so different. The notes ebbed and flowed. They were barely audible to the ear. It would have been a sham in any piano competition, and yet...

It made Jason feel alive.

James quickly ended and stood up. Jason stared at his butler in awe. "How do I do play like that?"

"Young master, I must remind you that you should not try to imitate others, but rather find your own music."

"My own music? How am I supposed to do that?"

"Figuring out how to do that is exactly what you need to be thinking about now. Creating your own style is difficult and requires years of reflection and understanding, but in the end, you create something unique to yourself."

"Something unique to yourself..." Jason brewed over the vague idea, trying to grasp the meaning behind the words.

As Jason was in the midst of his thoughts, James quietly left the room.

Moments later, James stood in front of two large doors. He knocked on the door and called out.

"Master,"

"Oh James, come in." The old man's voice sounded out. It appeared as though he had calmed down since James last saw him.

James quietly opened the door. On the other side was a brightly lit elegant room. The two side walls were crammed full of books. The back wall was decorated with a vast array of famous pianists. A large exquisite desk was centered in the room.

By the desk, James saw his Master. He regained his regal aura and atmosphere that most people associated with him. After all, he was a world renowned pianist.

"James, I've received word that you have been snooping around for information on another young girl. Is this true?"

"Yes master." confirmed James as he placed a manila folder onto the desk. Within it, there various photos of Juliet and her family as well as some notes that James had taken down.

Briefly glancing at the folder, the old man shook his head. "Sigh, James you've grown up with Jason's father, so I'm sure that you treat Jason like a son. I would have hoped that you would stand in for that pathetic son of mine and whip the young lad into shape."

"I will keep that in mind." Although he said that, James had always tried to bring up Jason in a carefree way. He constantly took care of most of his needs and cleaned up after all his messes. He believed that having a blissful life was the epitome of living.

"As long as you keep it in mind that's..." The old man paused when his eye caught a particular photo. The photo he had in his hand showed the entire Arc family eating together at the dinner table. "James, exactly who is this girl?"

"Yes, the young lady in question is named Juliet Arc. She is fourteen years and is looking to be going to Signal Academy. Although I have not confirmed, I have reason to believe that her measurements are..."

"That's enough information about her. Tell me more about her family."

"Of course, from extensive research I have found that her mother is the world renowned Johanna Romee. Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything about her father besides the fact that he appears to be a man named John Arc."

-SLAM-

The old man stood up instantly scattering the rest of the folder everywhere. "Twenty five years...It's been twenty five years...Son..." The man looked at James. "Get the jet ready."

"Now, master?"

"Of course now! I've waited far too long!"

"Right away. I'll get everything ready." James quickly collected the scatter photos back into the folder. Just as he was turning to leave,

"Wait!"

"Yes master?"

"Leave the file here. It seems like there is a lot I need to catch up on."

"Of course," James placed the file on the desk. "I'll be going now."

As James left the room he heard a bellowing cry. "A son!? I have another grandson!?"

The very next day, a large limousine drove in front of the Arc family home. The old head of the Arkam got out of the vehicle and approached the door. Just as he was going to knock, he hesitated.

"Master, is everything alright?"

"I-it's just that, it's been so long. I'm not sure what to say." muttered the old man out of character. "James, you knock on the door."

"As you wish, Master." James stepped forward and knocked on the door.

What greeted the butler was the young boy he remembered from the resort. "Hello?" greeted Jaune.

"Greetings young man, I'm looking for someone named John Arkam. Is he here?"

"I don't think so." Jaune didn't know anyone by that last name and he was sure that there were no guests visiting right now.

"How about John Arc?"

"Oh, you mean dad!" Jaune turned his head and called out. "Dad there's someone here for you!"

"Alright, Jaune I'm coming. Hey-" At that moment John stopped. "James?"

Seeing one of his closest friends again was too much for the butler. Holding back the tears James uttered, "J-John...It's been a long time."

"How did you even find me?" asked John awestruck.

"It was a coincidence really..." Before James could continue any further, Jason's grandfather coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Well if it isn't my old man." John frowned at the sight of his father.

"My, twenty five years and you are still acting like a child." chided the man.

"Dad-"

"Enough," stopped the old man. "I haven't come here to argue about the past. I just wanted to see you."

"Dad?" Jaune hid behind John's leg frightened by the angry old man.

"Oh Jaune, meet your grandfather. Classical musician extraordinaire Jacques Arkam." introduced John.

"H-hello" muttered Jaune. The look of his so called "grandfather" gave was making him nervous.

"So, this is my grandson is he?" Jacques bent down to look at Jaune face to face.

After a long moment gazing deeply at Jaune, Jacques made a request, "Lad, may I see your hands?"

Jaune looked at his dad, who gave him a nod. Jacques look at Jaune's firm and smooth fingers. Every now and then pressing as if to measure something. Another minute past before the man let go.

"Ohohoho, good hands, good hands! He's a chip off the old block! Reminds me of when I was a young lad myself! Oh, how good those days were!"

"Sure dad, whatever you say." scoffed John.

"Daddy, who is that?" The four males turned to see the triplets accompanied by their mother.

"Ah! It's that butler for the weirdo!" cried Jane as she hid behind Johanna's leg.

Seeing his four granddaughters, Jacques was beside himself. He crouched down and opened his arms wide. "Oh what sweet angels! Come and give grandpa a hug"

"Grandpa?" Jay tilted her heard at a word she didn't know. "We have another grandpa?"

Joan looked towards her mother. "We only have one grandpa, right?"

"No girls, you have two grandpas. Your grandpa Jojo is my daddy while this person is daddy's daddy." explain Johanna.

"What? Daddy has a daddy too?" exclaimed Joan.

"Yes, girls. Your daddy has a daddy too." John confirmed.

"Wow, that's so cool." murmured Jay as she tried to wrap her head around the concept.

"I'm glad to see a teaching moment, but don't you think it's time you let me in? Or are we just going to keep talking here at the door?"

"If I had it my way, I'd prefer we stay here at the door, but..." John glanced at his wife giving him a death glare. "I guess we could let you in."

John let his father and friend inside. James helped his Master out of his winter jacket. Jacques was quickly answering the bombardment of questions from the triplets.

As it was almost dinner time, June was in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, she came out to see what was going on. "I heard a commotion, is everything alright?"

"Ahh, June, this is your grandfather." informed John.

"Hello grandfather." greeted June politely.

Jacques looked at the young girl. He was instantly reminded of his wife when she was younger.

"Isabella..." Jacques shook his head to get the image out of his mind. "Uh hum, seems like you have been busy these years I haven't seen you John."

John made a nervous face. "Well..."

"The kids can be a handful, but we manage." intervened Johanna. "Now it's about time for dinner, isn't it? June, can you set the table for two more people."

"Sure, mom." June quickly headed back into the kitchen.

"Madam, we couldn't impose," started James.

"You're family, so there's nothing wrong with having sitting down and having a meal, right? Come, sit down with us." Johanna ushered the two men into the dining room.

With the size of the Arc family, their dining table was equal in size. It could easily fit in the two guests.

"Jewel, Julie! Dinner's ready!" called out June.

"Coming!" hollered Julia. Two sets of footsteps stormed down before grinding to a halt at the sight of James and Jacques.

"Gah, it's that creepy butler from the resort." cried Julia. Juliet quickly stopped behind her twin.

James got up and apologized. "Forgive us for intruding, but we do not come with ill intention."

John caught the twins up to speed. "Girls, it's okay. James is one of my friends, so you can think of him like an uncle. This other person is your grandfather."

"What does that mean we're related to Jason?" mumbled Juliet. "Is he our long lost brother?"

"No," answered John. "I have a brother and I'm assuming that Jason is his son. That makes him your cousin."

"Ew that means Jason was hitting on his own cousin." realized Julia.

Before anyone could say another word about that potentially inappropriate relationship, June called out again. "Julie, Jewel, make sure you wash your hands!"

"Alright." The twins washed up and the meal began. Tonight, the family was having spaghetti. As a family favorite, June had made more than enough to feed the two men as well.

Most of the meal was eaten drowned in the noise of slurping pasta. With the children eating away at the meal, no one cared to talk.

"That was truly delicious." commented James as he wiped his face with his napkin. "Would you give me the recipe?"

June helped wipe Joan's sauce covered mouth with a napkin. "I'm glad you liked it. I'll write up the recipe after the dishes are done."

"Allow me to assist." James stood up and headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Having eaten his fill, John finally asked the question on his mind. "So dad, what are you here for?"

"Obviously to visit."

"Dad..."

"Even if you ran off with some girl and disappeared without a trace, you are still my son and I still love you," said Jacques. "Enough of the past, I came here to talk about the future! Specifically you, my boy."

"Me?" Jaune jumped at the sudden attention.

"Easy there, have some water." Julia quickly handed Jaune his glass.

"Yes, I assume that you are headed down the road of a pianist." continued Jacques. "I'd like to give you some guidance, but before I should say anything I think it would be best to know firsthand just how far you've come."

"How far I've come?" Jaune didn't understand how he would show that.

"Jaune, your grandpa is asking you to play something for him," clarified John.

"Alright, but let it wait until after dinner." added Johanna.

On that note, everyone continued to finish up their dinner. When the dishes were cleaned and the table spotless, the Arc family and guests headed into the piano room.

Jaune sat down at the piano. "What should I play?"

"Can you play this?" Jacques took out some sheet music. "This piece isn't too hard, so I'm sure you'll be able to sight read it."

"Alright," Jaune took the pieces of paper. As he looked over the music he was shocked. This was easy? There were probably only a handful of people that could dare say such things. Jaune could only do his best.

"Dad, that's..." John couldn't see the sheet music in detail, but at a glance he could tell that it wasn't something to sneeze at.

"Don't worry, if the boy is truly an Arkam, he should be able to handle this much," ignored Jacques.

"I'm starting." called out Jaune. He rested his hands on the keys and started playing.

Even though Jaune sounded doubtful about playing the piece, the notes rolled out as if he had written the music himself. Having eaten a warm meal, the music sounded cozy and bright. The notes eased into the ear and there was a beat that synchronized with the heart.

The Arc family was well accustomed to Jaune playing the music, so there weren't any sudden shifts in setting. Jacques and James also seemed unfazed by the music, though there eyes did widened for a fraction of a moment.

"It's as I thought." confirmed Jacques. "He's done well, given he didn't have much guidance. He has made good progress, but it seems that you stopped short of the next step."

Jacques turned towards John. "Son, hand the boy over to-"

"No." John instantly rejected

"Son, I can tell that you're raising him to become a musician. As your father I would know what is-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" roared John. His daughters in fright has they hugged their mother. Jaune jumped and stopped playing. Even though he could have kept going, hearing his dad cry out scared him.

John looked at his frightened family and sighed out. "Dad, there is a reason why I left home. It's because I can never and will never accept the way you do things. Sure, you may be the best pianist in all of Remnant. But to me, you're just a stinking old man. You only care about the family name and not the family who carries it." John quickly walked out of the room to cool off.

Jacques stared at John's leaving figure. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. There was a thick silence in the room. No one wanted to speak up. Thankfully, times like these are what butlers are for.

"Alright," James turned to Johanna. "Madam, thank you for the meal, but I think it would be best that we leave." James helped Jacques get to the door.

"Wait," stopped Johanna. Jacques looked at the girl who took away his son. He couldn't say he ever liked her, but seeing her now he could understand his son's feelings.

"Why, don't you stay the night?" offered Johanna. "I know things have started off on the wrong foot, but somethings just need time. There is plenty for you to catch up on after so many years. At least spend the night and think it over?"

Before Jacques could reject it, James quickly accepted. "We'll take you up on your offer Madam. Could you please direct us to our rooms?"

Johanna gave a warm smile. "Julie, could you show him to the guest rooms."

"Sure thing mom!" And so, Jacques and James stayed at the Arc family home for better or for worse.


End file.
